Trambelus
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Trambelus was a son of Telamon
(thus a half-brother of Ajax the Great and Teucer
). His mother was the Trojan
captive, Hesione
or Theaneira: when she had already been made pregnant by Telamon, she escaped by jumping off his ship and swimming until she reached the land of Miletus
. She then hid in the forest but was soon found by Arion, king of Miletus, who rescued her and raised her newborn son Trambelus as his own.
According to Parthenius
, Trambelus lived on Lesbos where he fell in love with a girl named Apriate, but she rejected all his advances. Desperate, he laid a snare for her and tried to take her by force, but she defended herself so vigorously that he got enraged and pushed her off a cliff into the sea; alternately, she leapt off the cliff herself, preferring to die rather than give up her chastity.
Not much later, the same source relates, Lesbos was attacked by Achilles
and his troops. Trambelus was among the defenders of the island and was mortally wounded in the battle. Achilles, impressed by his valor, inquired of his name; Trambelus managed to answer before he died. On realizing that the fallen opponent was his cousin, Achilles mourned Trambelus and piled up a tomb for him on the seashore; this tomb was still there in historical times.
John Tzetzes
relates the same story of Trambelus' death, but states that it took place in Miletus (not on Lesbos). This version is also hinted at by Athenaeus
, who refers to Trambelus as "king of the Leleges
", and informs that there was a spring in Miletus known as the "Achilles' Well", in which Achilles was believed to have cleansed himself for the murder of Trambelus; the water of the spring was said to be salty on the surface, but very sweet in the main stream.
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...
, Trambelus was a son of Telamon
Telamon
In Greek mythology, Telamon , son of the king Aeacus, of Aegina, and Endeis and brother of Peleus, accompanied Jason as one of his Argonauts, and was present at the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In the Iliad he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great and Teucer the Archer by different...
(thus a half-brother of Ajax the Great and Teucer
Teucer
In Greek mythology Teucer, also Teucrus or Teucris , was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-brother, Ajax, in the Trojan War and is the legendary founder of the city Salamis on Cyprus...
). His mother was the Trojan
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...
captive, Hesione
Hesione
In Greek mythology and later art, the name Hesione refers to various mythological figures, of which the Trojan princess Hesione is known most.-Princess Hesione of Troy:...
or Theaneira: when she had already been made pregnant by Telamon, she escaped by jumping off his ship and swimming until she reached the land of Miletus
Miletus
Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
. She then hid in the forest but was soon found by Arion, king of Miletus, who rescued her and raised her newborn son Trambelus as his own.
According to Parthenius
Parthenius of Nicaea
Parthenius of Nicaea or Myrlea in Bithynia was a Greek grammarian and poet. According to the Suda, he was the son of Heraclides and Eudora, or according to Hermippus of Berytus, his mother's name was Tetha. He was taken prisoner by Cinna in the Mithridatic Wars and carried to Rome in 72 BC. He...
, Trambelus lived on Lesbos where he fell in love with a girl named Apriate, but she rejected all his advances. Desperate, he laid a snare for her and tried to take her by force, but she defended herself so vigorously that he got enraged and pushed her off a cliff into the sea; alternately, she leapt off the cliff herself, preferring to die rather than give up her chastity.
Not much later, the same source relates, Lesbos was attacked by 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....
and his troops. Trambelus was among the defenders of the island and was mortally wounded in the battle. Achilles, impressed by his valor, inquired of his name; Trambelus managed to answer before he died. On realizing that the fallen opponent was his cousin, Achilles mourned Trambelus and piled up a tomb for him on the seashore; this tomb was still there in historical times.
John Tzetzes
John Tzetzes
John Tzetzes was a Byzantine poet and grammarian, known to have lived at Constantinople during the 12th century.Tzetzes was Georgian on his mother's side...
relates the same story of Trambelus' death, but states that it took place in Miletus (not on Lesbos). This version is also hinted at by Athenaeus
Athenaeus
Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...
, who refers to Trambelus as "king of the Leleges
Leleges
The Leleges were one of the aboriginal peoples of southwest Anatolia , who were already there when the Indo-European Hellenes emerged. The distinction between the Leleges and the Carians is unclear. According to Homer the Leleges were a distinct Anatolian tribe Homer...
", and informs that there was a spring in Miletus known as the "Achilles' Well", in which Achilles was believed to have cleansed himself for the murder of Trambelus; the water of the spring was said to be salty on the surface, but very sweet in the main stream.
Sources
- Parthenius, Love Romances. Transl. by S. Gaselee (1916) at Classical E-text