Agave (mythology)
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Agave (or Agaue from , English translation
: "illustrious") was the daughter of Cadmus
, the king and founder of the city of Thebes
, Greece
, and of the goddess Harmonia. Her sisters were Autonoë
, Ino
and Semele
, and her brother was Polydorus
. She married Echion
, one of the five Spartoi, and was the mother of Pentheus
, a king of Thebes. She also had a daughter, Epirus
. She was a Maenad
, a follower of Dionysus
(also known as Bacchus in Roman mythology
).
In Euripides
's play
, "The Bacchae
", Theban Maenads murdered King Pentheus after he banned the worship of Dionysus because he denied Dionysus's divinity. Dionysus, Pentheus's cousin, himself lured Pentheus to the woods, where the Maenads tore him apart and his corpse was mutilated by his own mother, Agave.
This murder also served as Dionysus's vengeance on Agave (and her sisters Ino and Autonoë). Semele, during her pregnancy
with Dionysus, was destroyed by the sight of the splendor of Zeus
. Her sisters spread the report that she had only endeavored to conceal unmarried sex with a mortal man, by pretending that Zeus was the father of her child, and said that her destruction was a just punishment for her falsehood. This calumny was afterwards most severely avenged upon Agave. For, after Dionysus, the son of Semele, had traversed the world, he came to Thebes and sent the Theban women mad, compelling them to celebrate his Dionysiac festivals on Mount Cithaeron
. Pentheus, wishing to prevent or stop these riotous proceedings, was persuaded by a disguised Dionysus to go himself to Cithaeron, but was torn to pieces there by his own mother Agave, who in her frenzy believed him to be a wild lion.
For this transgression, according to Hyginus
, Agave was exiled from Thebes and fled to Illyria
to marry King Lycotherses, and then killed him in order to gain the city for her father Cadmus. This account, however, is manifestly transplaced by Hyginus, and must have belonged to an earlier part of the story of Agave.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Agave (or Agaue from , English translation
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: "illustrious") was the daughter of Cadmus
Cadmus
Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...
, the king and founder of the city of Thebes
Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)
See Thebes, Greece for the modern city built on the ancient ruins.Ancient Thebes was a Boeotian city-state , situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and of the goddess Harmonia. Her sisters were Autonoë
Autonoe
In Greek mythology, Autonoë was a daughter of Cadmus, founder of Thebes, Greece, and the goddess Harmonia. She was the wife of Aristaeus and mother of Actaeon and possibly Macris...
, Ino
Ino (Greek mythology)
In Greek mythology Ino was a mortal queen of Thebes, who after her death and transfiguration was worshiped as a goddess under her epithet Leucothea, the "white goddess." Alcman called her "Queen of the Sea" , which, if not hyperbole, would make her a doublet of Amphitrite.In her mortal self, Ino,...
and Semele
Semele
Semele , in Greek mythology, daughter of the Boeotian hero Cadmus and Harmonia, was the mortal mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. In another version of his mythic origin, he is the son of Persephone...
, and her brother was Polydorus
Polydorus (son of Cadmus)
Polydorus was the only son of Cadmus and Harmonia and king of Thebes. His sisters were Semele, Ino, Agave, and Autonoë.Upon his father's death, Pentheus, the son of his sister Agave and Echion, one of the Spartoi, ruled Thebes. Pentheus, however, ruled only for a short time, before Dionysus caused...
. She married Echion
Echion
In Greek mythology, the name Echion "son of the viper", cf. ἔχις echis "viper") referred to five different beings.*One of the Gigantes.*One of the surviving Spartoi, the "sown men" that sprang up from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus; "it was Echion who, for his great valor, was preferred by...
, one of the five Spartoi, and was the mother of Pentheus
Pentheus
In Greek mythology, Pentheus was a king of Thebes, son of the strongest of the Spartes, Echion, and of Agave, daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and the goddess Harmonia....
, a king of Thebes. She also had a daughter, Epirus
Epirus (mythology)
Epirus or Epeiros, in Greek mythology, is the daughter of Agave and Echion. She accompanied Cadmus and Harmonia while they were carrying the body of Pentheus. While in Epirus, she died and was buried in a thicket; this thicket was later considered sacred to her and the entire country was renamed...
. She was a Maenad
Maenad
In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus , the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones"...
, a follower of Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
(also known as Bacchus in Roman mythology
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...
).
In Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
's play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
, "The Bacchae
The Bacchae
The Bacchae is an ancient Greek tragedy by the Athenian playwright Euripides, during his final years in Macedon, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthumously at the Theatre of Dionysus in 405 BC as part of a tetralogy that also included Iphigeneia at Aulis, and which...
", Theban Maenads murdered King Pentheus after he banned the worship of Dionysus because he denied Dionysus's divinity. Dionysus, Pentheus's cousin, himself lured Pentheus to the woods, where the Maenads tore him apart and his corpse was mutilated by his own mother, Agave.
This murder also served as Dionysus's vengeance on Agave (and her sisters Ino and Autonoë). Semele, during her pregnancy
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
with Dionysus, was destroyed by the sight of the splendor of Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
. Her sisters spread the report that she had only endeavored to conceal unmarried sex with a mortal man, by pretending that Zeus was the father of her child, and said that her destruction was a just punishment for her falsehood. This calumny was afterwards most severely avenged upon Agave. For, after Dionysus, the son of Semele, had traversed the world, he came to Thebes and sent the Theban women mad, compelling them to celebrate his Dionysiac festivals on Mount Cithaeron
Kithairon
Kithairon is a mountain range about 10 mi long, in central Greece, standing between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mainly composed of limestone and rises to 4,623 ft...
. Pentheus, wishing to prevent or stop these riotous proceedings, was persuaded by a disguised Dionysus to go himself to Cithaeron, but was torn to pieces there by his own mother Agave, who in her frenzy believed him to be a wild lion.
For this transgression, according to Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus was a Latin author, a pupil of the famous Cornelius Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was by Augustus elected superintendent of the Palatine library according to Suetonius' De Grammaticis, 20...
, Agave was exiled from Thebes and fled to Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
to marry King Lycotherses, and then killed him in order to gain the city for her father Cadmus. This account, however, is manifestly transplaced by Hyginus, and must have belonged to an earlier part of the story of Agave.
Other characters
Agave is also the name of three more minor characters in Greek mythology.- Agave, one of the NereidsNereidsIn Greek mythology, the Nereids are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sisters to Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon and can be friendly and helpful to sailors fighting perilous storms. They are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father...
.
- Agave, one of the Danaids, daughter of DanausDanausIn Greek mythology Danaus, or Danaos , was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Achiroe and Belus, a mythical king of Egypt. The myth of Danaus is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus...
and EuropaEuropa (mythology)In Greek mythology Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys...
. She married LycusLycusLycus or Lykos , a common name for Greek rivers, seems to have originated in the impression made upon the mind of the beholder by a torrent rushing down the side of a hill, which suggested the idea of a wolf rushing at its prey.Lycus or Lykos may refer to:* Lycus , several people in Greek...
, son of AegyptusAegyptus- Aegyptus, King of Egypt and Arabia :In Greek mythology, Aegyptus is a descendant of the heifer maiden, Io, and the river-god Nilus, and was a king in Egypt. Aegyptos was the son of Belus and Achiroe, a naiad daughter of Nile. Aegyptus fathered fifty sons, who were all but one murdered by the...
and ArgyphiaArgyphiaArgyphia is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-References:*...
.
- Agave, an AmazonAmazonsThe Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia...
.