Amphion and Zethus: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Greek mythological figures; considered the founders of Thebes}} | {{Short description|Greek mythological figures; considered the founders of Thebes}} | ||
{{for multi|the third century neoplatonist|Zethos the Arab|the vespid wasp genus|Zethus (genus)}}{{Other uses|Amphion}}[[File: | {{for multi|the third century neoplatonist|Zethos the Arab|the vespid wasp genus|Zethus (genus)}}{{Other uses|Amphion}} | ||
[[File:Zetoyanfion.jpg|thumb|Dirce's punishment by Amphion and Zethus - Roman wall painting in House of the Vettii, Pompeii.]] | |||
'''Amphion''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|ˈ|f|aɪ|.|ɒ|n}} | '''Amphion''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|ˈ|f|aɪ|.|ɒ|n}}; {{Langx|grc|Ἀμφίων|Amphíōn}}) and '''Zethus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|iː|θ|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Ζῆθος|Zêthos}}) were, in ancient [[Greek mythology]], the twin sons of [[Zeus]] (or Theobus){{refn|According to other writers and to Antiochus {{refn|This Antiochus has not been identified. {{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09d3DwAAQBAJ&q=amphion+antiochus+theobus&pg=SA2-PA16 |title=Explicit Sources of Tzetzes' Chiliades |edition=2nd |first=Miguel |last=Carvalho Abrantes |chapter=2.16 Antiochus |date=30 April 2017 |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=978-1545584620 |access-date=22 November 2018}}}} as cited in [[John Tzetzes]]. ''[http://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades1.html#13 Chiliades, 1.13 line 319]''}} by [[Antiope (mother of Amphion)|Antiope]]. They are important characters in one of the two [[founding myth]]s of the city of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]], because they constructed the city's walls. Zethus or Amphion had a daughter called [[Neis (mythology)|Neis]] (Νηίς), and the Neitian gate at Thebes was believed to have derived its name from her.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DN%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dneis-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Neis]</ref> | ||
== Mythology == | == Mythology == | ||
===Childhood=== | ===Childhood=== | ||
[[File: | [[File:The doctrine of morality - or, A view of human life, according to the stoick philosophy - exemplify'd in one hundred and three copper-plates, done by the celebrated Monsieur Daret, engraver to the (14744818991).jpg|thumb|Amphion and Zethus]] | ||
Amphion and Zethus were the sons of [[Antiope (mother of Amphion)|Antiope]], who fled in shame to [[Sicyon]] after Zeus raped her, and married King [[Epopeus]] there. However, either [[Nycteus]] or [[Lycus (brother of Nycteus)|Lycus]] attacked Sicyon in order to carry her back to Thebes and punish her. On the way back, she gave birth to the twins and was forced to expose them on [[Mount Cithaeron]]. Lycus gave her to his wife, [[Dirce]], who treated her very cruelly for many years.<ref name="Apollodorus, Library, 3.5.5">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], 3.5.5</ref> | |||
Antiope eventually escaped and found her sons living near Mount Cithaeron. After they were convinced that she was their mother, they killed Dirce by tying her to the horns of a bull, gathered an army, and conquered Thebes, becoming its joint rulers.<ref name="Apollodorus, Library, 3.5.5"/> They also either killed Lycus or forced him to give up his throne.<ref name=":0">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=58}} </ref> | Antiope eventually escaped and found her sons living near Mount Cithaeron. After they were convinced that she was their mother, they killed Dirce by tying her to the horns of a bull, gathered an army, and conquered Thebes, becoming its joint rulers.<ref name="Apollodorus, Library, 3.5.5"/> They also either killed Lycus or forced him to give up his throne.<ref name=":0">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=58}} </ref> | ||
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Amphion's wife Niobe had many children, but had become arrogant and because of this she insulted the goddess [[Leto]], who had only two children, [[Artemis]] and Apollo. Leto's children killed Niobe's children in retaliation (see [[Niobe]]). Niobe’s overweening pride in her children, offending Apollo and Artemis, brought about her children’s deaths.<ref name=":0" /> In [[Ovid]], Amphion commits [[suicide]] out of grief; according to [[Telesilla]], Artemis and Apollo murder him along with his children. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], however, writes that in his madness he tried to attack the temple of Apollo, and was killed by the god's arrows.<ref>Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993, p. 539</ref> | Amphion's wife Niobe had many children, but had become arrogant and because of this she insulted the goddess [[Leto]], who had only two children, [[Artemis]] and Apollo. Leto's children killed Niobe's children in retaliation (see [[Niobe]]). Niobe’s overweening pride in her children, offending Apollo and Artemis, brought about her children’s deaths.<ref name=":0" /> In [[Ovid]], Amphion commits [[suicide]] out of grief; according to [[Telesilla]], Artemis and Apollo murder him along with his children. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], however, writes that in his madness he tried to attack the temple of Apollo, and was killed by the god's arrows.<ref>Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993, p. 539</ref> | ||
Zethus had only one son, who died through a mistake of his mother Thebe, causing Zethus to kill himself.<ref name="Tripp"/> In the ''[[Odyssey]]'', however, Zethus's wife is called [[Aëdon]], a daughter of [[Pandareus]] in book 19, who killed her son [[Itylus]] in a fit of madness and became a nightingale.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' Trans. Richmond Lattimore. New York: Harper Collins, 1967, p. 295</ref> Later authors would clarify that Aëdon tried to kill Niobe and Amphion's firstborn [[Amaleus]] out of jealousy that Niobe had borne many children, while she and Zethus only had one.{{sfn|Pimentel|Simoes Rodrigues|2019|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DeayEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 201]}}{{sfn|Fowler|2000|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA341 341]}} However in the dark of the night, Aëdon by mistake killed Itylus, and in her mourning she was transformed into a nightingale by her father-in-law Zeus<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]], ''On Homer's Odyssey'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP4NAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA215 19.710]</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2002|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ezDlXl7gP9oC&pg=PA303 303]}} when Zethus began to chase her down in rage for murdering their son.<ref>[[Scholia]]st on the ''Odyssey'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=GBlgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA517 19.518]</ref> Alternatively, Aëdon was afraid that her husband (here, mistakenly perhaps, spelled [[Boreads|Zetes]]) was having an affair with a nymph, and that Itylus was assisting his father in his infidelity, so she killed him.<ref>[[Photios I of Constantinople]], ''[[Myriobiblon]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=HKUw3Ry7D0oC&pg=PA1583 Helladius Chrestomathia]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://mythandreligion.upatras.gr/english/m-r-wright-a-dictionary-of-classical-mythology/ | website = mythandreligion.upatras.gr | publisher = [[University of Patras]] | first = Rosemary M. | last = Wright | access-date = March 15, 2023 | title = A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations}}</ref> | Zethus had only one son, who died through a mistake of his mother Thebe, causing Zethus to kill himself.<ref name="Tripp"/> In the ''[[Odyssey]]'', however, Zethus's wife is called [[Aëdon]], a daughter of [[Pandareus]] in book 19, who killed her son [[Itylus]] in a fit of madness and became a nightingale.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' Trans. Richmond Lattimore. New York: Harper Collins, 1967, p. 295</ref> Later authors would clarify that Aëdon tried to kill Niobe and Amphion's firstborn [[Amaleus]] out of jealousy that Niobe had borne many children, while she and Zethus only had one (though in some versions they also have a daughter [[Neis (mythology)|Neis]]).{{sfn|Pimentel|Simoes Rodrigues|2019|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DeayEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA201 201]}}{{sfn|Fowler|2000|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA341 341]}} However in the dark of the night, Aëdon by mistake killed Itylus, and in her mourning she was transformed into a nightingale by her father-in-law Zeus<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]], ''On Homer's Odyssey'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP4NAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA215 19.710]</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2002|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ezDlXl7gP9oC&pg=PA303 303]}} when Zethus began to chase her down in rage for murdering their son.<ref>[[Scholia]]st on the ''Odyssey'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=GBlgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA517 19.518]</ref> Alternatively, Aëdon was afraid that her husband (here, mistakenly perhaps, spelled [[Boreads|Zetes]]) was having an affair with a nymph, and that Itylus was assisting his father in his infidelity, so she killed him.<ref>[[Photios I of Constantinople]], ''[[Myriobiblon]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=HKUw3Ry7D0oC&pg=PA1583 Helladius Chrestomathia]</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://mythandreligion.upatras.gr/english/m-r-wright-a-dictionary-of-classical-mythology/ | website = mythandreligion.upatras.gr | publisher = [[University of Patras]] | first = Rosemary M. | last = Wright | access-date = March 15, 2023 | title = A Dictionary of Classical Mythology: Summary of Transformations}}</ref> | ||
After the deaths of Amphion and Zethus, [[Laius]] returned to Thebes and became king. | After the deaths of Amphion and Zethus, [[Laius]] returned to Thebes and became king. | ||
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[[Category:Theban kings]] | [[Category:Theban kings]] | ||
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]] | [[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Sons of Zeus]] | ||
[[Category:Mythological Thebans]] | [[Category:Mythological Thebans]] | ||
[[Category:Deeds of Apollo]] | [[Category:Deeds of Apollo]] | ||
[[Category:Suicides in Greek mythology]] | |||
Latest revision as of 06:05, 13 September 2025
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Amphion (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx) and Zethus (Template:IPAc-en; Template:Langx) were, in ancient Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus (or Theobus)Template:Refn by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed the city's walls. Zethus or Amphion had a daughter called Neis (Νηίς), and the Neitian gate at Thebes was believed to have derived its name from her.[1]
Mythology
Childhood
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Amphion and Zethus were the sons of Antiope, who fled in shame to Sicyon after Zeus raped her, and married King Epopeus there. However, either Nycteus or Lycus attacked Sicyon in order to carry her back to Thebes and punish her. On the way back, she gave birth to the twins and was forced to expose them on Mount Cithaeron. Lycus gave her to his wife, Dirce, who treated her very cruelly for many years.[2]
Antiope eventually escaped and found her sons living near Mount Cithaeron. After they were convinced that she was their mother, they killed Dirce by tying her to the horns of a bull, gathered an army, and conquered Thebes, becoming its joint rulers.[2] They also either killed Lycus or forced him to give up his throne.[3]
Rule of Thebes
Amphion became a great singer and musician after his lover Hermes taught him to play and gave him a golden lyre. Zethus became a hunter and herdsman, with a great interest in cattle breeding. As Zethus was associated with agriculture and the hunt, his attribute was the hunting dog, while Amphion’s - the lyre.[3] Amphion and Zethus built the fortifications of Thebes.[3] They built the walls around the Cadmea, the citadel of Thebes, at the command of Apollo.[4] While Zethus struggled to carry his stones, Amphion played his lyre and his stones followed after him and gently glided into place.[5]
Amphion married Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, the Lydian king. Because of this, he learned to play his lyre in the Lydian mode and added three strings to it.[6] Zethus married Thebe, after whom the city of Thebes was named.[7] Otherwise, the kingdom was named in honour of their supposed father Theobus.[8]
Later misfortunes
Amphion's wife Niobe had many children, but had become arrogant and because of this she insulted the goddess Leto, who had only two children, Artemis and Apollo. Leto's children killed Niobe's children in retaliation (see Niobe). Niobe’s overweening pride in her children, offending Apollo and Artemis, brought about her children’s deaths.[3] In Ovid, Amphion commits suicide out of grief; according to Telesilla, Artemis and Apollo murder him along with his children. Hyginus, however, writes that in his madness he tried to attack the temple of Apollo, and was killed by the god's arrows.[9]
Zethus had only one son, who died through a mistake of his mother Thebe, causing Zethus to kill himself.[5] In the Odyssey, however, Zethus's wife is called Aëdon, a daughter of Pandareus in book 19, who killed her son Itylus in a fit of madness and became a nightingale.[10] Later authors would clarify that Aëdon tried to kill Niobe and Amphion's firstborn Amaleus out of jealousy that Niobe had borne many children, while she and Zethus only had one (though in some versions they also have a daughter Neis).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn However in the dark of the night, Aëdon by mistake killed Itylus, and in her mourning she was transformed into a nightingale by her father-in-law Zeus[11]Template:Sfn when Zethus began to chase her down in rage for murdering their son.[12] Alternatively, Aëdon was afraid that her husband (here, mistakenly perhaps, spelled Zetes) was having an affair with a nymph, and that Itylus was assisting his father in his infidelity, so she killed him.[13][14]
After the deaths of Amphion and Zethus, Laius returned to Thebes and became king.
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Family tree
Template:Family tree of the Theban royal house
Gallery
Amphion
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Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope, and twin brother of Zethus
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Amphion by NathanJacquin (November 16, 2015)
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Amphion
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Mercury and Amphion by Jean Vignaud (1819)
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Amphion by Krauss, Johann Ulrich (ca. 1690)
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Amphion and Zethus
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The Farnese Bull depicting the punishment of Dirke by Amphion and Zethos
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Dirce being tied to a bull by Amphion as Zethus looks on; Antiope tries to stop her son's hand. (fresco, 1st century AD)
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The Famese Bull
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Amphion and Zethus
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Julius Troschel, Amphion and Zethus (1840-1850), Neue Pinakothek.
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_-_Napoli_MAN_9042_-_01.jpg){kind=link}
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See also
Mention in Ancient Sources
Notes
Template:Sister project Template:Reflist
References
- Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
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- Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. Template:ISBN. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Template:ISBN. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
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- Tzetzes, John, Book of Histories, Book I translated by Ana Untila from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826. Online version at theio.com
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Further reading
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Template:Interwikiconflict Template:Theban Kings
- ↑ A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Neis
- ↑ a b Apollodorus, 3.5.5
- ↑ a b c d Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Template:Google books
- ↑ Hyginus, Fabulae 9
- ↑ a b Tripp, Edward. Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1970, p. 44. Original, less elaborate, account in Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 6.20.18
- ↑ Tripp, Edward. Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology. New York: Thomas Crowell Company, 1970, p. 43
- ↑ Apollodorus, 3.5.6
- ↑ Tzetzes, Chiliades 1.13 line 322
- ↑ Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993, p. 539
- ↑ Homer, Odyssey Trans. Richmond Lattimore. New York: Harper Collins, 1967, p. 295
- ↑ Eustathius of Thessalonica, On Homer's Odyssey 19.710
- ↑ Scholiast on the Odyssey 19.518
- ↑ Photios I of Constantinople, Myriobiblon Helladius Chrestomathia
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