Editing Myrmidons (section)

== Ovid's myth of the repopulation of Aegina ==
<!--the following should follow Ovid more closely than this-->[[Hera]], queen of the gods, sent a [[epidemic|plague]] to kill all the human inhabitants of Aegina because the island was named for one of the lovers of [[Zeus]]. King [[Aeacus]], a son of Zeus and the intended target of Hera along with his mother, prayed to his father for a means to repopulate the island.

As the ''[[Myrmex (mythology)|myrmekes]]'' ([[Ancient Greek]]: μύρμηκες, ''múrmēkes'', singular: μύρμηξ, ''múrmēx''), the ants of the island, were unaffected by the sickness, Zeus responded by transforming them into a race of men, the Myrmidons.<ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses''. [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph7.htm#64106447 Bk VII:614-660 "The creation of the Myrmidons"]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Myrmidon {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Myrmidon |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> They were as fierce and hardy as ants, and intensely loyal to their leader.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hamilton|first=Edith|author-link=Edith Hamilton|year=1969|orig-year=1940|chapter=Brief Myths Arranged Alphabetically|title=[[Mythology (book)|Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes]]|edition=Renewal|publisher=[[New American Library|Mentor Books]]|location=New York|page=310|isbn=0-451-62803-9}}</ref>

After a time, Aeacus exiled his two sons, [[Peleus]] and [[Telamon]], for murdering their half-brother, [[Phocus of Aegina|Phocus]].  Peleus went to [[Phthia]] and a group of Myrmidons followed him to [[Thessaly]]. Peleus's son, [[Achilles]], brought them to [[Troy]] to fight in the [[Trojan War]]. They feature as the loyal followers of Achilles in most accounts of the Trojan War.

Another tradition states that the Myrmidons had no such remarkable beginnings, but were merely the descendants of [[Myrmidon (hero)|Myrmidon]], a Thessalian nobleman, who married [[Peisidice]], the daughter of [[Aeolus]], king of Thessaly. Myrmidon was the father of Actor and Antiphus. As king of Phthia, Actor (or his son) invited Peleus to stay in Thessaly.