In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons (or Myrmidones; Ancient Greek: Μυρμῐδόνες, Murmidónes, singular: Μυρμῐδών, Murmidṓn) were an ancient Thessalian Greek 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.
Greek tribe. In Homer's Iliad, the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles. Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Phthiotis, who was a...
Look up myrmidon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Myrmidon or Myrmidons may refer to: Myrmidons, an ancient nation of Greek mythology Myrmidon (hero)...
British Royal Navy have been named HMS Myrmidon after the Myrmidons of Greek mythology. The first HMS Myrmidon (1781) was a 22-gun sixth rate in use from...
were used for repairing landing craft during World War II. Named for the Myrmidons (in Greek mythology, warriors of the fierce Thessalian tribe who accompanied...
the Myrmidons, in Shakespeare's version of that tragedy, could have been, since it was swifter, so brutal a handling as I got from the Myrmidons of Merton...
Myrmidon Books is a UK publisher of literary and genre fiction founded in 2006 by Ed Handyside. The company is based in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United...
about the Trojan War. One, collectively called the Achilleis, comprised Myrmidons, Nereids and Phrygians (alternately, The Ransoming of Hector). Another...
Regan. He is the second-in-command of Achilles' fifty Myrmidons (rather fewer than the 2,500 Myrmidons in the Iliad). He is Achilles' oldest friend, and partly...
Myrmidon (Greek: Mυρμιδών; lived 4th century BC) was an Athenian who commanded a force of ten thousand mercenaries, which formed part of the reinforcements...
Troy with 50 ships, each carrying 50 Myrmidons. He appointed five leaders (each leader commanding 500 Myrmidons): Menesthius, Eudorus, Peisander, Phoenix...
disguised as Achilles and defying his orders to retreat in time, led the Myrmidons in battle against the Trojans and was eventually killed by the Trojan...
Operation Myrmidon was the planned raid during the Second World War by No. 1 Commando and No. 6 Commando in April 1942. This operation was an abortive...
Thessaly. It is frequently mentioned in Homer's Iliad as the home of the Myrmidons, the contingent led by Achilles in the Trojan War. It was founded by Aeacus...
that Zeus either changed the ants (μύρμηκες) of the island into the men (Myrmidons) over whom Aeacus ruled, or he made the men grow up out of the earth....
dogs to giant bears which guarded a hill that had rich deposits of gold. Myrmidons, ants which transformed into humans. Cattle The Cattle of Geryon, magnificent...
spirit signally avenging his death". Aeschylus, in his lost tragedy The Myrmidons (5th century BC), assigned Achilles the role of erastes or protector (since...
The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several fictional teams and organizations and this page lists them. Contents...
cryptid) – Man with moth wings and features Myrmecoleon (Christian) – Ant-lion Myrmidons (Greek) – Warriors created from ants by Zeus Pabilsag (Babylonian) – Sagittarius-like...
Arany); Daiku to Oniroku (大工と鬼六 "The carpenter and the ogre") in Japan and Myrmidon in France. An earlier literary variant in French was penned by Mme. L'Héritier...
Last Letters from Hav was republished in 2006 together with Hav of the Myrmidons and an introduction by Ursula K. Le Guin in a collected volume entitled...
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