| Sarpedon I | |
|---|---|
King ofLycia | |
| Member of theCretan Royal Family | |
 Hypnos andThanatos carrying the body of Sarpedon from thebattlefield ofTroy; detail from anAtticwhite-ground lekythos, ca. 440 BC. | |
| Successor | Evander |
| Abode | Crete, laterLycia |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Zeus andEuropa |
| Siblings | Minos andRhadamanthus |
| Consort | (1)Miletus (lover) (2) ? |
| Offspring | (2) Evander |
InGreek mythology,Sarpedon (/sɑːrˈpiːdən/ or/sɑːrˈpiːdɒn/;Ancient Greek:Σαρπηδών) was a son ofZeus, who fought on the side ofTroy in theTrojan War. Although in theIliad, he was the son ofZeus andLaodamia, the daughter ofBellerophon, in the later standard tradition, he was the son of Zeus andEuropa, and the brother ofMinos andRhadamanthus, while in other accounts the Sarpedon who fought at Troy was the grandson of the Sarpedon who was the brother of Minos.[1]
Sarpedon is believed to be a Greek rendering of Anatolian compound Sar-pedan 'one having top position'.[2]
There was a temple of Sarpedon inXanthos, in Lycia, perhaps associated with a supposed burial site there.[3] There was also a temple and oracle ofApollo Sarpedonios andArtemis Sarpedonia at Seleuceia in Cilicia.[4] According toTertullian there was a shrine and oracle of Sarpedon in theTroad, although Tertullian might have been confusing this for the oracle in Cilicia.[5] There is evidence to suggest that Sarpedon was the subject of pre-Homeric non-Greek worship.[6]
There were three separate traditions concerning the genealogy of Sarpedon the brother of Minos, and Sarpedon the Trojan War hero.
InHomer'sIliad, Zeus had two sons by Europa,Minos andRhadamanthus;[7][8] Sarpedon, a Trojan ally fromLycia, was the son of Zeus andLaodamia, the daughter ofBellerophon and the Lycian princessPhilonoe, with no apparent connection toCrete.[9] However, in the standard classical tradition Sarpedon was instead the Cretan son of Zeus and Europa, and the brother of Minos.[10] According to scholia toIliad book 12, citingHesiod andBacchylides, Europa bore Zeus three sons onCrete, Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus.[11]
A fragment of the HesiodicCatalogue of Women (preserved on a papyrus with many holes), mentions Europa's children by Zeus, and while only the name Rhadamanthus is preserved, there is sufficient room for the names Minos and Sarpedon, and the rest of the fragment appears to involve Sarpedon's exploits at Troy.[12] A fragment ofAeschylus'Carians also has Sarpedon as the third son, after Minos and Rhadamanthus, of Zeus and Europa.[13] In the fragment, Sarpedon is off fighting at Troy, while Europa waits anxiously for word of his fate. This same genealogy appears in theEuripideanRhesus.[14]
Having a Trojan War hero also be the brother of Minos involves a genealogical difficulty, since Minos lived three generations before the Trojan War. In some accounts, Zeus granted his son Sarpedon the gift of long life. Such a gift is already suggested by the HesiodicCatalogue fragment, and Apollodorus, perhaps drawing on theCatalogue, says that Zeus allowed his (and Europa's) son Sarpedon to live for three generations.[15] However, by other accounts, the Sarpedon who was the brother of Minos, and the Sarpedon who fought atTroy were different.Diodorus Siculus says that, according to Cretan myth, the Sarpedon who was the son of Zeus and Europa, and the brother of Minos and Rhadamanthus, had a sonEuandrus who marriedDeïdameia, the daughter of Bellerophon, and by her was the father of the Sarpedon who fought at Troy.[16]
InDictys Cretensis, Sarpedon is the son ofXanthus and Laodamia,[17] while in theClementine Recognitions he is the son of Zeus andHippodamia.[18]
| Sarpedon II | |
|---|---|
Trojan War hero | |
| Member of theLycian Royal Family | |
 The death of Sarpedon, depicted on the obverse ofEuphronios Krater, also called the Sarpedon Krater, c. 515 BC | |
| Abode | Lycia |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | (1)Zeus andLaodamia (2) Zeus andHippodamia (3)Euandros andDeidamia (4)Xanthus and Laodamia |
| Siblings | - |
Sarpedon and his brothers Minos and Rhadamanthus, were adopted by theCretan kingAsterion or Asterius.[19] According to the scholia toIliad book 12 (mentioned above) when Zeus brought Europa to Crete, he gave her as wife to Asterion, the king of Crete,[20] while the mythographersDiodorus Siculus andApollodorus tells us that Europa married Asterion, who adopted her three sons Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus.[21] When they grew up, Sarpedon and Minos fought, Minos won, and Sarpedon was forced to flee his native Crete forAsia Minor, eventually ending up inLycia.[22]
AsHerodotus tells us, Sarpedon and Minos fought for the Cretan throne, and Minos prevailed, driving out Sarpedon and his supporters (called the Termilae), who fled to a place controlled by theMilyans (then called the Solymi), that would later be calledLycia, afterLycus, the son ofPandion II, the legendary king ofAthens.[23] However, in another version of the story reported by Apollodorus, Minos fought Sarpedon over the love of the boyMiletus (orAtymnius, the son of Zeus andCassiopeia). Again Minos was victorious, and Sarpedon fled (along with Miletus), this time to join Europa's brotherCilix, who was at war with the Lycians.[24] Cilix won the war, and Sarpedon became king of the Lycians. According to the fourth-century BC historianEphorus, this Sarpedon was said to be the founder of theCarian city ofMiletus (although in other accounts the boy Miletus is credited as founder).[25]
As mentioned above, in the standard tradition, this Sarpedon was a leader of a Lycian contingent which fought alongside the Trojans in the Trojan War. Although according toDiodorus Siculus, this Sarpedon instead had a son Euandrus who was the father of the Sarpedon who fought at Troy.[26]
Sarpedon fought on the side of the Trojans, with his cousinGlaucus, during theTrojan War,[27] becoming one ofTroy's greatest allies and heroes.
| Trojan War |
|---|
 |
Trojans and allies |
He scoldedHector in theIliad (Book 5, lines 471–492) claiming that he left all the hard fighting to the allies of Troy and not to the Trojans themselves, and made a point of saying that the Lycians had no reason to fight theGreeks, or no real reason to hate them, but because he was a faithful ally to Troy he would do so and fight his best anyway.[28] When the Trojans attacked the wall newly built by the Greeks, Sarpedon led his men (who also included Glaucus andAsteropaios) to the forefront of the battle and causedAjax andTeucer to shift their attention from Hector's attack to that of Sarpedon's forces. He personally held up the battlements and was the first to enter the Greek encampment. This attack allowed Hector to break through the Greek wall. It was during this action that Sarpedon delivered a speech aboutnoblesse oblige to Glaucus,[29] stating that they had been the most honoured kings, therefore they must now fight the most to repay that honour and prove themselves and repay their loyal subjects. While he was preparing to plunge into battle, he told Glaucus that together they would go on to glory: if they were successful, the glory would be their own; if not, the glory of whoever stopped them would be the greater.
WhenPatroclus entered the battle in the armour ofAchilles, Sarpedon met him in combat. Zeus debated with himself whether to spare his son's life even though he was fated to die by the hand of Patroclus. He would have done so hadHera not reminded him that other gods' sons were fighting and dying and other gods' sons were fated to die as well. If Zeus should spare his son from his fate, another god might do the same; therefore Zeus let Sarpedon die while fighting Patroclus, but not before Sarpedon killed the only mortal horse of Achilles. During their fight, Zeus sent a shower of bloody raindrops over the Trojans' heads expressing the grief for the impending death of his son.[30]
When Sarpedon fell, mortally wounded, he called on Glaucus to rescue his body and arms. Patroclus withdrew the spear he had embedded in Sarpedon, and as it left Sarpedon's body his spirit went with it.[31] A violent struggle ensued over the body of the fallen king. The Greeks succeeded in gaining his armour (which was later given as a prize in the funeral games for Patroclus), but Zeus had Phoebus Apollo rescue the corpse. Apollo took the corpse and cleaned it, then delivered it to Sleep (Hypnos) and Death (Thanatos), who took it back to Lycia for funeral honours.[32] (See:Iliad books: II, IV, XII, XVI).
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
