Hermione (mythology)
| Hermione | |
|---|---|
 Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus and Helen in Greek mythology |
|
| Pronunciation | /hərˈmaɪ.ɵniː/ |
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Greek |
| Meaning | derived from Hermes |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Herminie |
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Look up Hermione in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
In Greek mythology, Hermione (Greek: Ἑρμιόνη[1]) was the only child of King Menelaus of Sparta and his wife, Helen of Troy.
Prior to the Trojan War, Hermione was betrothed by Tyndareus, her grandfather,[2] to Orestes. However, during the Trojan War, Menelaus promised her to Neoptolemus, also known as Pyrrhus, son of Achilles. There is a historical dispute over whether or not such a discrepancy actually occurred, however. Some authors, such as Euripides, have Orestes say: "For you were mine to begin with, and you are married to Neoptolemus only by the baseness of your father. Before he was killed by Menelaus, he gave you to me to be my wife, but later he promised you to your present husband as a reward if he killed Menelaus and Agamemnon." — Euripides, Andromache,[3] describing the dual promise, while others, such as Ovid,[4] do not mention it at all.
Regardless, ten years after the end of the Trojan War, Neoptolemus claimed Hermione as his wife. Their marriage is mentioned in Book 4 of the Odyssey, when Telemachus, son of Odysseus, visits Sparta and meets Helen and Menelaus.
Shortly after settling into the domestic life, however, conflict arose between Hermione and Andromache (widow of Hector, prince of Troy and elder brother of her father Paris), the concubine Neoptolemus had obtained as a prize after the sack of Troy. Hermione blamed Andromache for her inability to become pregnant, claiming that she was casting spells on her to keep her barren. She asked her father to kill Andromache while Neoptolemus was away at war, but when he chose not to go through with the murder, Hermione fled from Epirus with her cousin Orestes.
Hermione and Orestes were married, and she gave birth to his heir Tisamenus. The myths do not mention Hermione after that, though it is said that Orestes later married his half-sister Erigone, daughter of Clytemnestra and Aigisthus, who was Orestes's second cousin.
Hermione in art and literature [edit]
- Ermione by Gioachino Rossini
- Andromaque by Jean Racine
- Helen's Daughter novel by Laura Gill
References [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hermione |
- ^ Ἑρμιόνη, Georg Autenrieth, A Homeric Dictionary, on Perseus project
- ^ "wise Tyndareus, a man of sober life and many long years gave me to you" Ovid, Heroides 8. Hermione's letter to Orestes.
- ^ 969.
- ^ "I was given to you by Tyndareus... but my father... had promised me to Aeacus' son [i.e., Neoptolemus], not knowing this... " — Ovid, Heroides 8.31.
