InGreek mythology, theDanaïdes (/dəˈneɪ.ɪdiːz/;Greek:Δαναΐδες), alsoDanaides orDanaids, were the fifty daughters ofDanaus, king ofLibya. In the most common version of the myth, the daughters were forced to marry the sons of Danaus' brotherAegyptus. In retaliation, Danaus commanded them to kill their husbands on their wedding night, and all but one,Hypermnestra, obeyed. The Danaids were then condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated jug.[1]
The myth of the Danaids is found in numerous written accounts fromantiquity, such as in the writings ofApollodorus,Pindar, andPausanius.[2] The names of the Danaids are inscribed in lists from Apollodorus andHyginus, though they differ greatly.[1]
The most complete version of the Danaid myth is found inApollodorus'sBibliotheca.[3] The story was also documented by several other authors inancient Greece andRome, such as inPindar'sPythian Odes,Pausanius'Description of Greece, andHyginus'sFabulae.Aeschylus also devoted a dramatic trilogy to the subject, containingThe Suppliants,The Egyptians, andThe Danaids, or perhaps a tetralogy includingAmymone.[4] The Danaids are also the subject of anepic poem which has been lost, called theDanais.[5]
In theMetamorphoses by Roman poetOvid, the Danaids are referenced briefly as the “daughters ofBelus,” or the Beliedes in some translations, after their grandfather Belus. They appear toOrpheus when he entersHades, appearing alongside other mythical figures such asSisyphus.[6]
They also are referenced inStrabo’s Geography, where he describes how the Danaids discovered water underneath the region ofLerna, bringing wells to the previously waterless region surroundingArgos.[7]
The Danaids were all daughters of Danaus, king of Libya. In most versions of the myth Danaus is said to be a son of Belus andAchiroe, however, inEuripides' version of the myth he is the son ofIo.[8] The Danaids grandfather, Belus, was a son ofPoseidon, and ruled over a large territory in the middle east and Northern Africa, includingAssyria,Egypt,Libya, andArabia. Belus and Achiroe had three sons:Cepheus and twin brothers Danaus andAegyptus.[2]
Despite having the same father, the Danaids may have all been born of different women, though the names and number of women differ between authors. Apollodorus claims that six of the daughters were born to thenaiadPolyxo; six toPieria; two toElephantis; four to QueenEuropa; ten to thehamadryadnymphsAtlanteia andPhoebe; seven to anAethiopian woman; three toMemphis; two toHerse, and lastly four toCrino.[9] According toHippostratus, all of the daughters were begotten by Europa, the daughter of the river godNilus.[10] In other accounts,Melia, daughter of KingAgenor, was the mother of all the Danaids.[11]
Danaus and his twin brother Aegyptus were given territories by their father to rule over. Danaus was chosen to be king ofLibya, while Aegyptus was sent to rule the Kingdom of Arabia, which he later calledEgypt, after himself.[12] Both men fathered 50 children, with Danaus having 50 daughters (the Danaids) and Aegyptus having 50 sons.[9] When their father died, Aegyptus and Danaus fought over his inheritance. Disguising it as a form of truce, Aegyptus proposed marriages between all their children. However Danaus suspected his brother had a plan to overthrow him and his kingdom, and therefore refused the marriage proposal.[13] Under the advice ofAthena, he built a boat and fled Egypt with his daughters, sailing out ofChemmis.[1]
Danaus and the Danaids sailed toRhodes, where there they set up a monument to honorAthena Lindia. In some versions, the Daniads were the ones to build the temple at the site. After being in Rhodes, they sailed to the coast ofApobathmi, a location not far fromLerna andArgos.[1]
After arriving in Argos, Danaus declared that he was divinely chosen by Athena to rule Argos. The current king of Argos, KingPelasgus, did not believe him. Even so, Pelasgus got together an assembly to discuss Danaus' claim to the throne. Unsure how to decide, they agreed to reconvene in the morning. However, after seeing a wolf killing a bull the next morning, Pelasgus feared this was an omen that Danaus would take over Argos with violence, and therefore vacated the throne peacefully.[2]
During Danaus' rule, a drought ravaged Argos. Previously,Poseidon had dried up all thesprings aroundArgos due toInachus, the first king of Argos, making a sacrifice to Hera and claiming the lands belonged to her instead of Poseidon, whose cult preceded hers in the region.[14][15][16]
One day, one of the Danaids,Amymone, was sent out to fetch water. While out, she fell asleep and was attacked by asatyr. Seeing this, Poseidon intervened and scared the satyr away by throwing histrident; it became lodged in a rock. Poseidon questioned why she was there, and after she told him she was fetching water, he had Amymone remove his trident from the rock, where a spring then gushed forth.[17][18] This fountain, river, or spring created by and named after Amymone is mentioned by multiple ancient authors includingPliny,[19]Ovid,[20] and Apollodorus.[21] They claim the spring is near to the lake ofLerna where thehydra lived.
Meanwhile, Aegyptus was enraged by his brother's betrayal. He organized an army led by all his sons, and sent them to Argos with the command that they should not return until either Danaus was dead or he had consented to let the brothers marry the Danaids.[9] Danaus, facing a probable loss and wanting to protect the Argives, agreed to let the brothers marry his daughters in a large wedding feast where every couple was married on the same night.[9] However, Danuas gave all the Danaids daggers, and instructed them to cut off their husband's heads after they had fallen asleep on their wedding night and bring the heads to him as proof of their deaths.[22] The Danaids all followed their father's command except one:Hypermnestra, who spared her husbandLynceus because he respected her desire to remain avirgin.[23] After sparing her husband, Hypermnestra helped Lynceus flee back to safety[24] either with his father in Egypt[25] or toLynceia, a city in theArgolid.[26][27] Occasionally,Amymone[28] and/or Bryce (Bebryce)[29] are instead named as the Danaids who defied Danaus.
Danaus was enraged that his daughter refused to do as he ordered, so he imprisoned her and tried her in the Argive courts.[23] In Euripides' version of the myth, Lynceus killed Danaus and his daughters as revenge for the death of his brothers.[3] However, Apollodorus instead has Danaus uniting Hypermnestra and Lynceus, and later passing the kingdom to his son-in-law.[9]
Apollodorus claims the heads of the murdered husbands were buried atLerna, where the Danaids carried out funeral rites in front of the city. In this version,Athena andHermes then purified the ground at the command ofZeus.[9] However,Pausanias claims the heads were instead buried atLarisa, and the headless bodies were buried in Lerna.[22]
Afterwards, the Danaids were said to be remarried through athletic contests, specificallyfootraces.[9]Pindar claimed that Danaus would place one of his daughters at the end of a racecourse, and arrange for the suitors to race towards her. The first man to touch her robes could then marry her.[30] Pausanias instead wrote that Danaus had great difficulty in marrying off his daughters due to their crime, so he sent out a notice that he would give away his daughters without bride-gifts, and that each suitor could choose whichever daughter pleased him most. He then held a footrace where participants were able to choose their wives according to the order in which they finished. Races were carried out until every daughter was chosen.[31]
Some accounts tell that their punishment inTartarus was being forced to carry a jug to fill apithos without a bottom (or with a leak) to wash their sins off. Because the water constantly leaked, they would forever try to fill the pithos without succeeding.[12]
Throughout generations of scholarship and to present day, there have been numerous interpretations of the meaning and purpose behind the myth of the Danaids. In theRenaissance,humanistBoccaccio interpreted the myth to be a cautionary tale against the vanity of women, using the punishment of the Daniads in the underworld as evidence.[32]
Scholars have interpreted the myth to be an origin for natural phenomena in the Lerna region, in particular attributing it to the springs. In 1894Ludwig Preller publishedGriechische Mythologie in which he interpreted the Danaids asnymphs and their husbands as the springs.[33] Preller described how the Danaids murdered the springs each year, explaining this as the Greek mythological reasoning for the drying up of the springs during the summer. Scholars further found evidence of the myth serving this purpose with the inclusion of Amymone as one of the Danaids. However, this interpretation is not as readily agreed upon today.[34]
Other scholars, such as Richard Buxton, have interpreted the myth of the Danaids as a tale that represents a woman’s role in relation to her father and her husband. The Danaids must choose who to protect, their father or their newly betrothed, and all but Hypermnestra chose their father.[35]
The list in theBibliotheca[36] preserves not only the names of brides and grooms but also those of their mothers. A lot was cast among the sons of Aegyptus to decide which of the Danaids each should marry, except for those daughters born to Memphis who were joined by their namesakes, the sons of Tyria. According toHippostratus, Danaus had all these progenies begotten by a single woman, Europa, the daughter of Nilus.[10]
Hyginus' list[37] is partially corrupt, and some of the names are nearly illegible. Nevertheless, this catalog has almost nothing in common with that of Pseudo-Apollodorus. Names with the (†) symbol mean corrupted entries but annotations from various editors were provided to rationalize their possible names.
| No. | Danaïdes | Aegyptus' Sons | No. | Danaïdes | Aegyptus' Sons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Idea †[38] | Antimachus | 26 | Autodice | Clytus |
| 2 | Philomela | Panthius[39] | 27 | Polyxena | Aegyptus |
| 3 | Scylla | Proteus | 28 | Hecabe | Dryas |
| 4 | Phicomone †[40] | Plexippus | 29 | Acamantis or Achamantis † | Echomius † |
| 5 | Evippe | ? | 30 | Arsalte † | Ephialtes |
| 6 | ? | ? | 31 | Monuste † | Eurysthenes † |
| 7 | ? | Agenor[41] | 32 | Amymone | Midamus † |
| 8 | Demoditas[42] | ? | 33 | Helice | Evideas † |
| 9 | ?[43] | Chrysippus | 34 | Amoeme or Oeme | Polydector |
| 10 | Hyale † | Perius[44] | 35 | Polybe | Itonomus † |
| 11 | Trite[45] | Enceladus | 36 | Helicta † | Cassus |
| 12 | Damone †[46] | Amyntor | 37 | Electra | Hyperantus † |
| 13 | Hippothoe[47] (possibly Hypothoe[48]) | Obrimus (possibly Bromius)[49] | 38 | Eubule | Demarchus |
| 14 | Myrmidone[50] | Mineus †[51] (possiblyOeneus) | 39 | Daplidice † | Pugnon † |
| 15 | Eurydice | Canthus | 40 | Hero | Andromachus |
| 16 | Cleo[52] | Asterius[53] | 41 | Europome † | Atlites or Athletes † |
| 17 | Arcania †[54] | Xanthus | 42 | Pyrantis † | Plexippus |
| 18 | Cleopatra | Metalces | 43 | Critomedia | Antipaphus |
| 19 | Philea †[55] | Philinas[56] | 44 | Pirene | Dolichus |
| 20 | Hyparete | Protheon | 45 | Eupheme or Eupheno † | Hyperbius |
| 21 | Chrysothemis | Asterides † | 46 | Themistagora | Podasimus |
| 22 | Pyrante | Athamas | 47 | Celaeno | Aristonoos † |
| 23 | Armo † | asbus † | 48 | Itea † | Antiochus |
| 24 | Glaucippe | Niavius † | 49 | Erato † | Eudaemon |
| 25 | Demophile | Pamphilus | 50 | Hypermnestra | Lynceus |
A third list was provided by the English antiquarian,Henry Ellis, which was derived from Hyginus. The names of the Danaïdes were complete but with new entries and some alterations in the spellings.[57] It can be observed that the names Armoaste and Danaes (Danais) were an addition to complete the list, while Scea (Scaea) and Autonomes (Automate), which were borrowed from Apollodorus' accounts were also added.
| Hyginus | Ellis | Hyginus | Ellis | Hyginus | Ellis | Hyginus | Ellis | Hyginus | Ellis | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Midea or Idea | Idea | 11 | Trite | Trite | 21 | Chrysothemis | Chrysothemis | 31 | Monuste | Monuste | 41 | Europome | Europomene |
| 2 | Philomela | Philomela | 12 | Damone | Damone | 22 | Pyrante | Heranta | 32 | Amymone | Amimone | 42 | Pyrantis | Chrysanta |
| 3 | Scylla | Scillo | 13 | Hippothoe | Hippothoe | 23 | ? | Armoaste | 33 | Helice | Helice | 43 | Critomedia | Critomedia |
| 4 | (Am)Phicomone | Phicomene | 14 | Myrmidone | Mirmidone | 24 | Glaucippe | Glaucippe | 34 | Oeme | Amaome | 44 | Pirene | Pyrene |
| 5 | Evippe | Euippe | 15 | Eurydice | Euridice | 25 | Demophile | Demophile | 35 | Polybe | Polybe | 45 | Eupheme | Eupheno |
| 6 | ? | Danaes | 16 | Cleo | Chleo | 26 | Autodice | Autodice | 36 | Helicta | Helicte | 46 | Themistagora | Themistagora |
| 7 | ? | Scea | 17 | Arcadia or Arcania | Vrania | 27 | Polyxena | Polyxena | 37 | Electra | Electra | 47 | Celaeno | Paleno |
| 8 | Demoditas | Demoditas | 18 | Cleopatra | Cleopatra | 28 | Hecabe | Hecate | 38 | Eubule | Eubule | 48 | Itea | Itea |
| 9 | ? | Autonomes | 19 | Phila or Philae | Phylea | 29 | Acamantis | Achamantis | 39 | Daplidice | Daphildice | 49 | Erato | Erato |
| 10 | Hyale | Hyale | 20 | Hipparete | Hypareta | 30 | Arsalte | Arsalte | 40 | Hero | Hero | 50 | Hypermnestra | Hypermnestra |
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Several minor female characters mentioned in various accounts unrelated to the central myth of Danaus and the Danaïdes are also referred to as daughters of Danaus. These include:
The Daughters of Danaus is also the title of an 1894 novel byMona Caird, also dealing with imposed marriage although, in this case, it is a single marriage instead of 50, and in 19th-century Great Britain.
In 1910,[71] the Hungarian poetMihály Babits published his poemThe Danaids, translated into English by Peter Zollman[72] and István Tótfalusi.[73]
Magda Szabó's 1964 novel,A Danaida (The Danaid), is about a woman who lives selfishly for two-thirds of her life without realizing that even she can change the course of history.
Le Châtiment des Danaïdes is an essay by the French-Canadian authorHenri-Paul Jacques applying the Freudian concept of psychoanalysis to studying the punishment imposed on the Danaïdes after they committed their crimes.[74]
InMonday Begins on Saturday, it is mentioned that the Danaïdes had their case reviewed in modern times, and, due to mitigating circumstances (the marriage being forced), had their punishment changed to laying and then immediately demolishingasphalt.
