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The Myrmidons or Myrmidones (Greek: Μυρμιδόνες) were a legendary people of Greek history. They were very brave warriors, trained and commanded by Achilles,[1] as described in Homer's Iliad.

Myth of Origins

An etiological myth of their origins was first mentioned by Ovid, in Metamorphoses. In Ovid's telling, a terrible plague wipes out the population of the island Aegina.Hera is responsible for the devastating plague, jealous that her husband Zeus named the island after his lover, the nymph Aegina (mythology). King Aeacus of Aegina prays to Zeus to repopulate the island, and Zeus responds with a flash of lightning, which Aeacus understands to be an affirmation from the Gods. Aeacus then sees a colony of ants covering a tree, so he asks for as many people as there are ants. Overnight, Aeacus has a dream that these ants fall to the ground and are transformed into people. When he wakes the next morning, he finds his island is repopulated and that his prayers have been answered. He names them Myrmidons after the Greek word myrmex, meaning ant.

In to Hesoid's Catalogue of Women, the son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, Aeacus, grows up on the island of Aegina all alone. Aeacus prays to Zeus for company, and similarly to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Zeus changes ants into men and women for his son to rule over.

The Myrmidons in Homer's Iliad

According to the legend, the Myrmidons left the island of Aegina and moved to Thessaly. Aeacus' grandson Achilles eventually became the leader of the Myrmidons.

Later Uses of the Term

In Manichaeism, the name myrmidons is used to refer to a certain class of demonic soldiers that fight for darkness against light. This has been found by archaeologists in papyri known as Coptic Manichaean Psalm-books. These papyri were found in Medinet Maadi, Egypt.^[4]

The Myrmidons of Greek myth were known for their skill in battle and loyalty to their leaders. In pre-industrial Europe the word myrmidon carried many of the same connotations that minion does today. Myrmidon later came to mean "hired ruffian" (according to the Oxford English Dictionary) or "loyal follower, especially one who executes orders without question, protest, or pity – unquestioning followers". (Dictionary.com).

Myrmidons was also the title of the first of a trilogy of plays by Aeschylus collectively known as the Achilleis. This play draws on the interactions between Achilles and Patroclus in Homer's Iliad, however, only fragments of the play survived and it is therefore incomplete.