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| Myrmidons | |
|---|---|
| Greek mythology race | |
| In-universe information | |
| Base of operations | Aegina |
| Type | Nation |
| Leader | Achilles |
In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons (or Myrmidones; Ancient Greek: Μυρμῐδόνες, Murmidónes, singular: Μυρμῐδών, Murmidṓn) were an ancient Thessalian tribe.[1][2]
In Homer's Iliad, the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles.[3] Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Phthiotis, who was a son of Zeus and "wide-ruling" Eurymedousa, a princess of Phthiotis. In one account, Zeus seduced Eurymedousa in the form of an ant.[4]
An etiological myth of their origins, simply expanding upon their supposed etymology—the name in Classical Greek was interpreted as "ant-people", from myrmedon (Ancient Greek: μῠρμηδών, murmēdṓn, plural: μῠρμηδόνες, murmēdónes), which means "ant-nest"—was first mentioned by Ovid in the Metamorphoses. In Ovid's telling, the Myrmidons were simple worker-ants on the island of Aegina.
- ^ The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 2003. p. 289.
Achilles is king of the Myrmidons, a Thessalian Greek tribe, and brought them with him to Troy as his troops.
- ^ Halliwell, Stephen (12 November 2015). Aristophanes: Frogs and Other Plays: A Verse Translation, with Introduction and Notes. Oxford University Press. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-19-106623-8.
Myrmidons (= the Thessalian tribe of Achilles)
- ^ Achilles himself is "the great Myrmidon/Who broils in loud applause" in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.
- ^ Clement of Alexandria, Exhortations Book II