Hermione (mythology)
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Hermione (Greek
: Ἑρμιόνη) was the only daughter of Menelaus
and Helen; however, some sources state that her mother also had a daughter, Iphigenia, by Theseus
, as well as three younger sons, one by Menelaus
, the others by Paris
, prince of Troy.
Hermione was nine when her mother left with Paris. While her father was fighting the war at Troy, Hermione lived with her Aunt Clytemnestra
in Mycenae
. It seems likely that her brothers were with her, though some stories say her youngest brother, Pleisthenes
, went with Helen to Troy. While at Mycenae, Hermione presumably would have met her cousins Iphigenia (whom most sources say was the daughter of Helen's sister, Clytemnestra
and Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon
, although others say that Clytemnestra had taken pity on Helen and adopted Iphigenia from her) and Electra
and their younger brother Orestes
.
Prior to the Trojan War
, she was betrothed by Tyndareus
, her grandfather, to Orestes
. However, during the Trojan War, Menelaus promised her to Neoptolemus
, also known as Pyrrhus, son of Achilles
. There is a historical dispute over whether or not such a discrepancy actually occurred, however. Some authors, such as Euripides
, have Orestes say: "For you were mine to begin with, and you are married to Neoptolemus only by the baseness of your father. Before he attacked Troy, he gave you to me to be my wife, but later he promised you to your present husband as a reward if he sacked Troy." — Euripides, Andromache, describing the dual promise, while others, such as Ovid
, do not mention it at all.
Regardless, ten years after the end of the Trojan War, Neoptolemus claimed Hermione as his wife. Their marriage is mentioned in Book 4 of the Odyssey
, when Telemachus
, son of Odysseus
, visits Sparta
and meets Helen and Menelaus.
Shortly after settling into the domestic life, however, conflict arose between Hermione and Andromache
(widow of Hector
, prince of Troy and elder brother of Paris), the concubine Neoptolemus had obtained as a prize after the sack of Troy
. Hermione blamed Andromache for her inability to become pregnant, claiming that she was casting spells on her to keep her barren. She asked her father to kill Andromache while Neoptolemus was away at war, but when he chose not to go through with the murder, Hermione fled from Epirus with her cousin Orestes.
Hermione and Orestes were married, and she gave birth to his heir Tisamenus
. The myths do not mention Hermione after that, though it is said that Orestes later married his half-sister Erigone
, daughter of Clytemnestra and Aigisthus, who was Orestes's second cousin.
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...
, Hermione (Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
: Ἑρμιόνη) was the only daughter of Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
and Helen; however, some sources state that her mother also had a daughter, Iphigenia, by Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
, as well as three younger sons, one by Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
, the others by Paris
Paris (mythology)
Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
, prince of Troy.
Hermione was nine when her mother left with Paris. While her father was fighting the war at Troy, Hermione lived with her Aunt Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
in Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
. It seems likely that her brothers were with her, though some stories say her youngest brother, Pleisthenes
Pleisthenes
In Greek mythology, Pleisthenes is the name of several different people:- Son of Pelops :Pleisthenes is the name of a son of Pelops, son of Tantalus, and of Hippodamia, rulers of Pisa. Two of his brothers are Atreus, founder of House Atreides, and Thyestes....
, went with Helen to Troy. While at Mycenae, Hermione presumably would have met her cousins Iphigenia (whom most sources say was the daughter of Helen's sister, Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra
Clytemnestra or Clytaemnestra , in ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. In the Oresteia by Aeschylus, she was a femme fatale who murdered her husband, Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan princess...
and Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
, although others say that Clytemnestra had taken pity on Helen and adopted Iphigenia from her) and Electra
Electra
In Greek mythology, Electra was an Argive princess and daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. She and her brother Orestes plotted revenge against their mother Clytemnestra and stepfather Aegisthus for the murder of their father Agamemnon...
and their younger brother Orestes
Orestes (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones....
.
Prior to the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, she was betrothed by Tyndareus
Tyndareus
In Greek mythology, Tyndareus or Tyndareos was a Spartan king, son of Oebalus and Gorgophone , husband of Leda and father of Helen, Castor and Polydeuces, Clytemnestra, Timandra, Phoebe and Philonoe.Tyndareus had a brother named Hippocoon , who seized power and exiled Tyndareus...
, her grandfather, to Orestes
Orestes (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones....
. However, during the Trojan War, Menelaus promised her to Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus
Neoptolemus was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology. Achilles' mother foretold many years before Achilles' birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war...
, also known as Pyrrhus, son of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
. There is a historical dispute over whether or not such a discrepancy actually occurred, however. Some authors, such as 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...
, have Orestes say: "For you were mine to begin with, and you are married to Neoptolemus only by the baseness of your father. Before he attacked Troy, he gave you to me to be my wife, but later he promised you to your present husband as a reward if he sacked Troy." — Euripides, Andromache, describing the dual promise, while others, such as Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, do not mention it at all.
Regardless, ten years after the end of the Trojan War, Neoptolemus claimed Hermione as his wife. Their marriage is mentioned in Book 4 of the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, when Telemachus
Telemachus
Telemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books in particular focus on Telemachus' journeys in search of news about his father, who has been away at war...
, son of Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, visits Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
and meets Helen and Menelaus.
Shortly after settling into the domestic life, however, conflict arose between Hermione and Andromache
Andromache
In Greek mythology, Andromache was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled...
(widow of Hector
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...
, prince of Troy and elder brother of Paris), the concubine Neoptolemus had obtained as a prize after the sack of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
. Hermione blamed Andromache for her inability to become pregnant, claiming that she was casting spells on her to keep her barren. She asked her father to kill Andromache while Neoptolemus was away at war, but when he chose not to go through with the murder, Hermione fled from Epirus with her cousin Orestes.
Hermione and Orestes were married, and she gave birth to his heir Tisamenus
Tisamenus
Tisamenus or Tissamenus in Greek mythology, was a son of Orestes and Hermione. He succeeded his father to the thrones of Argos, Mycenae and Sparta and was later killed in the final battle with the Heracleidae. The latter were led by Aristodemus, Cresphontes, Oxylus, Temenus and sought to retake...
. The myths do not mention Hermione after that, though it is said that Orestes later married his half-sister Erigone
Erigone (daughter of Aegisthus)
In Greek mythology Erigone was the daughter of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, rulers of Mycenae. By her half-brother, Orestes, Erigone was the mother of Penthilus. She would have also been slain by Orestes along with her brother Aletes if not for the intervention of Diana, who rescued her and made her...
, daughter of Clytemnestra and Aigisthus, who was Orestes's second cousin.
Hermione in art and literature
- ErmioneErmioneErmione is a tragic opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play Andromaque by Jean Racine.- Performance history :...
by Gioachino Rossini - AndromaqueAndromaqueAndromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands...
by Jean RacineJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...