Perimede

Perimede does not have a single consolidated origin narrative in the surviving sources but recurs as a named woman in multiple regional genealogical traditions. In Thessalian genealogies she is recorded as a daughter of King Aeolus (Aeolus son of Hellen) and therefore placed among Aeolian-descended houses (source: etymology/identification and Aeolian lists). In other accounts she is linked with the river-god Achelous: several summaries state that 'Perimede had Hippodamas and Orestes by Achelous' and that in one variant she was hurled from a cliff by her father and was caught (and later associated) with Achelous (sources: summaries of genealogical variants, cited web summaries). Additional variant attestations connect a Perimede figure with island dynasties (for example, as mother of Astypalaia in one strand) or appear as an alternate name alongside similar maternities in different local lists. These occurrences indicate onomastic multiplicity rather than a single continuous life-story (sources: comparative onomastic notes and multiple compiled lists).

The sources provide no consistent physical description or iconography for Perimede. She is treated as a named mortal woman appearing in genealogical catalogs, with narrative attention concentrated on relationships (parentage, marriage, offspring) and occasional incidents (a summarized variant reports she was hurled from a cliff and rescued by Achelous). No surviving source gives standardized bodily features, costume, or supernatural visage (sources: genealogical lists and summarized accounts).

No supernatural powers or special behaviors are ascribed to Perimede in the cited materials. Her name is etymologized as 'very cunning' or 'cunning all round' (from peri 'around' + medea 'cunning'), which places the name in the semantic field of craftiness, but the surviving citations do not narrate acts of sorcery, magic, or other abilities tied to that meaning. Her functional role in the tradition is reproductive and relational—serving to connect lineages—rather than endowed with demonstrated powers (sources: etymology and genealogical summaries).