Myrmidons
| Myrmidons | |
|---|---|
| Greek mythologyrace | |
| In-universe information | |
| Base of operations | Aegina |
| Type | Nation |
| Leader | Achilles |
InGreek mythology,theMyrmidons(orMyrmidones;Ancient Greek:Μυρμῐδόνες,Murmidónes,singular:Μυρμῐδών,Murmidṓn) were an ancientThessalian Greektribe.[1][2]
In Homer'sIliad,the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded byAchilles.[3]Theireponymousancestor wasMyrmidon,a king ofPhthiotis,who was a son ofZeusand "wide-ruling"Eurymedousa,a princess of Phthiotis. In one account, Zeus seduced Eurymedousa in the form of anant.[4]
Anetiological mythof their origins, simply expanding upon their supposed etymology—the name in Classical Greek was interpreted as "ant-people", frommyrmedon(Ancient Greek:μῠρμηδών,murmēdṓn,plural:μῠρμηδόνες,murmēdónes), which means "ant-nest" —was first mentioned byOvidin theMetamorphoses.In Ovid's telling, the Myrmidons were simple worker-ants on the island ofAegina.
Ovid's myth of the repopulation of Aegina
[edit]Hera,queen of the gods, sent aplagueto kill all the human inhabitants of Aegina because the island was named for one of the lovers ofZeus.KingAeacus,a son of Zeus and the intended target of Hera along with his mother, prayed to his father for a means to repopulate the island.
As themyrmekes(Ancient Greek:μύρμηκες,múrmēkes,singular: μύρμηξ,múrmēx), the ants of the island, were unaffected by the sickness, Zeus responded by transforming them into a race of men, the Myrmidons.[5][6]They were as fierce and hardy as ants, and intensely loyal to their leader.[7]Because of their antly origins, they wore brown armour.[citation needed]
After a time, Aeacus exiled his two sons,PeleusandTelamon,for murdering their half-brother,Phocus.Peleus went toPhthiaand a group of Myrmidons followed him toThessaly.Peleus's son,Achilles,brought them toTroyto fight in theTrojan War.They feature as the loyal followers of Achilles in most accounts of the Trojan War.
Another tradition states that the Myrmidons had no such remarkable beginnings, but were merely the descendants ofMyrmidon,a Thessalian nobleman, who marriedPeisidice,the daughter ofAeolus,king of Thessaly. Myrmidon was the father of Actor and Antiphus. As king of Phthia, Actor (or his son) invited Peleus to stay in Thessaly.
Medieval Myrmidons
[edit]Achilles was described byLeo the Deacon(born ca. 950) not asHellene,but asScythian,while according to the Byzantine authorJohn Malalas(c. 491–578), his army was made up of a tribe previously known as Myrmidons and "known now asBulgars".[8][9]The 12th-century Byzantine poetJohn Tzetzesalso identified the Myrmidons with the Bulgars, whom he also identified with thePaeonians,although the latter may be intended in a purely geographical sense.[10][11]In the 11th century,Michael Attaleiatescalled theRus'Myrmidons, but this usage did not catch on.[12]
According to Byzantine history scholarAndrew J. Ekonomou,these represent intentional distortions designed to "minimize the valor of pagan heroes, and eventually to extinguish their memory altogether".[8]Anthony Kaldellis, on the other hand, argues that such use of classical ethnonyms for modern peoples "do not really fall under the category of distortion at all".[12]
Modern Myrmidons
[edit]The Myrmidons of Greek myth were known for their loyalty to their leaders, so that in pre-industrial Europe the word "myrmidon" carried many of the same connotations that "robot"does today." Myrmidon "later came to mean" hired ruffian ", according to theOxford English Dictionary.
- Henry FieldinginTom Jones(1749, Book XV, ch. 5) employs the term in the sense of "hired thugs": "The door flew open, and in came Squire Western, with his parson and a set of myrmidons at his heels."
- TheRoyal Navyhas had several ships calledHMSMyrmidon.
- TheUnited States Navyhas had one vessel namedUSSMyrmidon(ARL-16)
- "The Myrmidons"was the name adopted in 1865 by a private dining society inMerton College, Oxford,which continues in existence.[13]Max Beerbohmwas a member (and Hon. Secretary), and the club called "The Junta" that features in his Oxford novelZuleika Dobsonis probably modelled on the Myrmidons. Other former members includeLord Randolph ChurchillandAndrew Irvine.
See also
[edit]- Myrmex,woman who became an ant
Notes
[edit]- ^The Journal of Indo-European Studies.2003. p. 289.
Achilles is king of the Myrmidons, a Thessalian Greek tribe, and brought them with him to Troy as his troops.
- ^Halliwell, Stephen (12 November 2015).Aristophanes: Frogs and Other Plays: A Verse Translation, with Introduction and Notes.Oxford University Press. p. 287.ISBN978-0-19-106623-8.
Myrmidons (= the Thessalian tribe of Achilles)
- ^Achilles himself is "the great Myrmidon/Who broils in loud applause" inShakespeare'sTroilus and Cressida.
- ^Clement of Alexandria,ExhortationsBook II
- ^Ovid.Metamorphoses.Bk VII:614-660 "The creation of the Myrmidons"
- ^"Myrmidon | Britannica".www.britannica.com.Retrieved2 October2023.
- ^Hamilton, Edith(1969) [1940]. "Brief Myths Arranged Alphabetically".Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes(Renewal ed.). New York:Mentor Books.p. 310.ISBN0-451-62803-9.
- ^abEkonomou, Andrew (2007).Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes.UK: Lexington Books. p. 123.ISBN9780739119778.Retrieved14 September2015.
- ^Jeffreys, Elizabeth; Croke, Brian (1990).Studies in John Malalas.Australian Association for Byzantine Studies, Department of Modern Greek, University of Sydney. p. 206.ISBN9780959362657.Retrieved14 September2015.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^Mitko B. Panov (2019),The Blinded State: Historiographic Debates about Samuel Cometopoulos and His State (10th–11th Century),Brill,p. 109.
- ^Anthony Kaldellis (2015),Byzantine Readings of Ancient Historians,Routledge,p. 79.
- ^abAnthony Kaldellis (2013),Ethnography After Antiquity,University of Pennsylvania Press,p. 112.
- ^"750 Years of Merton College - A Timeline"
