In the surviving accounts, Laodamia is presented as the wife of Protesilaus and a daughter of Acastus. Protesilaus leads forces from Phylace to Troy and is the first Greek to die in the Trojan War. Stricken with grief, Laodamia’s devotion and mourning occasion divine pity: several sources state that the gods brought Protesilaus up from Hades to see her. That visitation is explicitly temporary and contingent on the gods’ mercy. Variant traditions sometimes name Polydora in the wife’s role, but the cited accounts repeatedly identify Laodamia of Phylace in this narrative.
The sources do not give a sustained physical portrait; descriptions are limited to social markers. Ovid’s Heroides stages Laodamia as a noble bride/widow of Phylace: she is urged to put on royal garments, is attended by the matrons of her city, and has her hair combed by attendants. Beyond these conventional signs of noble status and ritualized preparation, the texts supply no detailed features such as complexion, hair color, or stature.
Laodamia is depicted as a mortal woman without supernatural powers. Her notable behaviors are intense, faithful mourning for Protesilaus, the creation of a likeness or image of her deceased husband with which she continues to consort, and the elicitation of divine pity that results in a temporary reunion with the returned dead. The narrative emphasizes that the gods — not Laodamia herself — effect the brief crossing of the boundary between life and Hades.
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.
Aerope
Aerope (Ancient Greek: Ἀερόπη) is a mythological mortal woman of Greek tradition, a Cretan princess connected to the royal house of Mycenae (the Atreidai). In surviving accounts she functions as a human agent whose sexual relationships and/or the transfer of a symbolic object (the "golden lamb") are narrated as catalysts in the dynastic feuds of Atreus and Thyestes; sources preserve variant and sometimes conflicting traditions about her fate and parentage.
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).
Community Record
- [1]Laodamia (daughter of Acastus) — Wikipedia. Wikipedia: Laodamia (daughter of Acastus)wiki
- [2]Protesilaus — Wikipedia. Wikipedia: Protesilauswiki
- [3]Laodamia Wife of Protesilaus - Greek Legends and Myths. GreekLegendsAndMyths: Laodamia Wife of Protesilausfolk
- [4]Protesilaus in Greek Mythology - Greek Legends and Myths. GreekLegendsAndMyths: Protesilausfolk
- [5]Ovid, The Heroides (VIII–XV) translation. Ovid, Heroides (English translation), passages addressing Laodamia and attendant womenliterary
- [6]Ovid, Heroides (11–15) - Theoi Classical Texts Library. Ovid, Heroides (Latin/translation), sections referencing Laodamia's preparation and social attendantsliterary
- [7]SUITORS OF HELEN - Greek Mythology Link. Greek Mythology Link: Achaean leaders and related genealogical notes (used for cross-reference of Phylace/Protesilaus)other
- [8]ACHAEAN LEADERS - Greek Mythology Link. Greek Mythology Link: listing of leaders including Protesilaus (contextual reference)other
- [9]Roman Times: Protesilaus: The first Greek to die in the Trojan War. AncientTimes blog: Protesilaus (contextual background on death at Troy)other