Cydippe
Encyclopedia
The name Cydippe is attributed to four individuals in Greek mythology
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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...
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- Cydippe was the mother of Cleobis and Biton. Cydippe, a priestess of HeraHeraHera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
, was on her way to a festival in the goddess' honor. The oxen which were to pull her cart were overdue and her sons, Biton and Cleobis pulled the cart the entire way (45 stadia; 8 km). Cydippe was impressed with their devotion to her and asked Hera to give her children the best gift a god could give a person. Hera had the two brothers drop dead instantaneously as the best thing she could give them was for them to die at their moment of highest devotion. This is HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
's account (Histories 1.31) of the story and it comes couched as advice from SolonSolonSolon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
the Athenian to CroesusCroesusCroesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
as to who the most blessed people in history are. The most often used quotation from this episode is (roughly translated) "call no man blessed until he is dead."
- Cydippe or Cyrbia was the daughter of HegetoriaHegetoriaIn Greek mythology, Hegetoria was a local nymph at Rhodes who married Ochimus. They had a daughter, Cydippe or Cyrbia, who married Ochimus's brother, Cercaphus, successor to his brother's power. According to an alternate version, Ochimus engaged Cydippe to Ocridion but Cercaphus loved her and...
and OchimusOchimusIn Greek mythology, Ochimus was the eldest of the Heliadae, sons of Helios and Rhodos. One of his brothers, Tenages, was murdered by four others: Actis, Macareus, Candalus and Triopas, and they had to leave their native island of Rhodes...
. She married Ochimus' brother, CercaphusCercaphusIn Greek mythology, Cercaphus was one of the Heliadae, sons of Helios and Rhodus. He and his brother Ochimus were the only to stay at the island of Rhodes, after their brother Tenages was killed by the other four and the murderers had to escape....
, who inherited the island. According to an alternate version, Ochimus engaged Cydippe to OcridionOcridionIn Greek mythology, Ocridion was a mortal who was engaged to Cydippe, daughter of Ochimus. She was kidnapped by her uncle, Cercaphus....
but Cercaphus loved her and kidnapped her. He did not return until Ochimus was old.
- Cydippe was the name of 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...
, daughters of NereusNereusIn Greek mythology, Nereus was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaia , a Titan who with Doris fathered the Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea. In the Iliad the Old Man of the Sea is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named...
and DorisDoris (mythology)Doris , an Oceanid, was a sea nymph in Greek mythology, whose name represented the bounty of the sea. She was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and the wife of Nereus. She was also aunt to Atlas, the titan who was made to carry the sky upon his shoulders, whose mother Clymene was a sister of Doris...
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- Cydippe was an AthenianAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
girl who was obliged to marry AcontiusAcontiusAcontius , was in Greek mythology a beautiful youth of the island of Ceos, the hero of a love-story told by Callimachus in a poem now lost, which forms the subject of two of Ovid's Heroides . During the festival of Artemis at Delos, Acontius saw Cydippe, a well-born Athenian maiden of whom he was...
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