Aerope is presented in the sources as a daughter of Catreus of Crete who, in differing traditions, is given away or sent from Crete and becomes linked by marriage to the house of Atreus at Mycenae. One strand (preserved in tragic reception and scholia) reports that Catreus discovered Aerope in sexual impropriety (variously described as found "in bed with a slave" or secretly violated) and entrusted her to Nauplius to be cast away; Nauplius is said in some accounts to have spared her and arranged her marriage. Another tradition (Apollodorus and genealogical scholia) treats her removal from Crete as motivated by an oracle predicting danger from Catreus' children rather than by sexual transgression. In Mycenaean narratives she is usually named as wife of Atreus (though some traditions insert Pleisthenes into the genealogy) and as mother or step-mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus, with variant accounts preserving alternative filial attributions.
Extant texts and scholiastic commentary preserved in the provided materials do not supply a physical description of Aerope. Ancient sources focus on her relationships, actions, and their political or moral consequences rather than on bodily appearance, clothing, or distinguishing marks.
Aerope is explicitly non-supernatural in the cited materials; she possesses no magical powers. Her notable agency is social and political: certain traditions describe sexual liaisons (interpretations range from adultery with Thyestes to an illicit encounter with a servant) and narrative accounts credit her with stealing or giving the "golden lamb"—a portent tied to the kingship of Mycenae—to Thyestes, enabling his claim to the throne. Her influence is therefore interpersonal and dynastic rather than supernatural.
Acanthus (son of Autonous)
Acanthus is a mythic human figure in a Greek metamorphosis tale (recorded by Antoninus Liberalis) who, with his family, was transformed by Zeus and Apollo into a bird named after him. The story functions etiologically, explaining the origin and behaviors of certain birds by linking them to formerly human persons and their experiences.
Admetus
Admetus is a mortal king of Pherae in Thessaly in the Greek tragic tradition (notably Euripides' Alcestis). His life becomes the subject of a divine bargain in which Apollo intervenes to delay his appointed death, a bargain that requires another to die in his stead — most famously his wife Alcestis.
Admetus of Pherae
Admetus of Pherae is a mortal king of Thessaly in Greek myth whose household and fate intersect with Olympian gods (notably Apollo and Artemis), the Fates, the personification of Death (Thanatos), and the hero Heracles. He is celebrated for hospitality and justice and is best known from the tragic cycle surrounding his wife Alcestis, who dies in his stead and is later recovered.
Aegiale
Aegiale is a mortal woman in Greek mythic tradition, best known as the wife of the hero Diomedes. In post‑Trojan War nostos narratives she is depicted in several accounts as unfaithful and as plotting against her husband; some traditions attribute her conduct to the vengeance of the goddess Aphrodite.
Aeopolus
Aeopolus (Ancient Greek: Αἰπόλος, gen.: Αἰοπόλου, romanized Aipolus or Aiopólos, lit. 'goatherd') is a mortal figure in Greek mythic genealogical tradition recorded only in brief scholia and summaries. He is named as the father of Cleobule, who in one variant is cited as a possible mother of Myrtilus by Hermes; some sources note he was also called Aeolus. Attestations are limited and no cult, deeds, or narratives are preserved for him.
Aesacus
Aesacus (Ancient Greek: Αἴσακος) is a mythic son of King Priam of Troy who, grieving the death of a river-nymph beloved, throws himself from a cliff and is transformed mid-plunge by the sea-goddess Tethys into a diving seabird (mergus). In some traditions (Apollodorus and Tzetzes) he is also described as a seer who learned dream-interpretation from his grandfather Merops and interprets Hecabe’s dream about Paris.
Aeëtes
Aeëtes is a mythic, semi-divine king of Aea (identified with Colchis) in the Greek heroic tradition, son of Helios and the Oceanid Perseis. He is guardian of wondrous objects—most famously the Golden Fleece—and functions as a royal task-master whose demands and possessions test visiting heroes (notably Jason and the Argonauts).
Agrius and Oreius
Agrius (Ἄγριος) and Oreius/Orius (Ὄρειος) are twin sons of Polyphonte and a bear in a Greek mythic tale. Presented as 'twin savage bear-like children,' they committed acts of impiety and violence and were ultimately transformed by the gods into ominous birds (vulture and eagle-owl) as part of divine punishment and resolution.
Alcimenes
Alcimenes (Ancient Greek Ἀλκιμένης) is a personal name borne by multiple mortal figures in Greek myth and literary history — including a Boeotian prince, one of the sons of Jason and Medea, and several authors. The sources treat Alcimenes as human characters within mytho-historical narratives and literary tradition rather than as a distinct supernatural class or spirit.
Aloadae
The Aloadae (Otus and Ephialtes) are twin, exceptionally large brothers of Greek myth—variously portrayed as gigantic, hubristic challengers to the Olympian order and as local culture-bringing founders and worshipers of the Muses. Traditions report prodigious growth and strength, an attempt to scale the heavens by stacking mountains, the capture of Ares in some versions, and several differing accounts of their deaths or posthumous punishment.
Amycus
Amycus (Ancient Greek: Amykos / Ἄμυκος) is a named figure in Greek myth chiefly attested as the king of the Bebryces of Bithynia who challenges the Argonauts and is slain in single combat by Pollux. The name is also reused in other, distinct contexts (a centaur in other sources; modern onomastic reuses such as an asteroid, a naval ship, and taxonomic names).
Amykos
Amykos is a semi-divine legendary king of the Bebryces in Bithynia who challenged strangers to lethal boxing matches and was killed by a visiting Argonaut. He is presented in Greek myth as a son of Poseidon and the Bithynian nymph Melia and functions as a localized antagonist encountered during the Argonauts' voyage.
Community Record
- [1]Aerope — Wikipedia. Wikipedia article 'Aerope'wiki
- [2]Aerope (daughter of Cepheus) — Wikipedia. Wikipedia disambiguation / related entry referencing mythic uses of the namewiki
- [3]The House of Atreus — The Classics Pages. Online summary of Atreid genealogies and variants (The Classics Pages)other
- [4]Aerope in Greek Mythology - Greek Legends and Myths. Popular summary of mythic variants concerning Aeropefolk
- [5]Aerope — GreekMythology.com. Online reference summarizing classical sources and traditionsfolk
- [6]Archive: Aerope, Trauerspiel in drey Aufzügen (1824). Post-classical dramatic work reusing the name 'Aerope' (archive entry)other
- [7]Archive: On the Anatomy of Aerope and Zingis (JSTOR scan). Historical academic article referencing the name 'Aerope' in a comparative anatomical context (archive)other
- [8]Beware the Global-Fleece Job (tribwatch) — summary reference to the golden lamb episode. Popular essay summarizing the golden-lamb motif and related Atreid materialother
- [9]Encyclo: Aerope - 3 definitions. Short lexical/encyclopedic entry listing mythic and later uses of the nameother