Antigone (daughter of Eurytion)

The Greek mythological character of Antigone (/ænˈtɪɡəni/ ann-TIG-ə-nee; Greek: Ἀντιγόνη), was a Phthian princess who was the daughter of Eurytion, was the wife of Peleus.[1] The meaning of the name is, as in the case of the masculine equivalent Antigonus, "worthy of one's parents" or "in place of one's parents".

Mythology

Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina. Peleus and his brother Telamon killed their half-brother Phocus, possibly accidentally. To escape punishment they fled from Aegina. At Phthia, Peleus was purified by Eurytion, king of Phthia, and married Eurytion's daughter, Antigone. Peleus and Antigone had a daughter, Polydora.

During the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, Peleus accidentally killed Eurytion and fled Phthia. Arriving in Iolcus, Peleus was purified of the murder of Eurytion by Acastus, the king of Iolcus.

According to the Bibliotheca, Peleus took part in the funeral games which followed the death of Acastus' father, Pelias, and lost a wrestling match to the virgin huntress, Atalanta.

Acastus' wife, Astydameia, made advances to Peleus, which he rejected. Bitter, she sent a message to Antigone falsely accusing Peleus of infidelity, whereupon Antigone hanged herself (Apollodorus, iii. 13).

Astydameia then told Acastus that Peleus had tried to rape her. Believing her accusation, Acastus took Peleus on a hunting trip, hid Peleus's sword, and abandoned him just as a group of centaurs attacked. Chiron, the wise centaur, returned Peleus's sword, and Peleus managed to escape. He pillaged Iolcus and dismembered Astydameia, then marched his army between the pieces.

References

  1. ↑ Pseudo-Apollodorus. Bibliotheca, Book 3.13.1-3

Further reading

  • Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antigone (2)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 125.
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