Editing Myrtilus

{{Short description|Divine hero and son of Hermes}}
[[File:Death of Myrtilus cinerary urn.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Death of Myrtilus depicted on a cinerary urn]]
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Myrtilus''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Μυρτίλος) was a [[Greek hero|divine hero]] and son of [[Hermes]]. His mother is said variously to be the [[Amazons|Amazon]] [[Myrto (mythology)|Myrto]];<ref name="Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1. 752">[[Scholia]] ad [[Apollonius Rhodius]], 1.752</ref> [[Phaethusa (mythology)|Phaethusa]], daughter of [[Danaus]];<ref>[[Pherecydes of Syros|Pherecydes]], fr. 37a</ref> or a [[nymph]]<ref>Pausanias'', Description of Greece,'' 8.14.10</ref> or mortal woman named [[Clytie]],<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], [[De astronomia|''De'' ''astronomia'']] [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.13.4 2.13.4]</ref> [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]] or [[Cleobule]]<ref>Scholia ad [[Euripides]], ''Orestes'' 990; [[Tzetzes]] ad [[Lycophron]], [https://topostext.org/work/860#157 157]</ref>{{AI-generated source|date=November 2024}} ([[Theobule]]<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae''  [https://topostext.org/work/206#224 224]</ref>). Myrtilus was the [[chariot]]eer of King [[Oenomaus]] of [[Pisa (Greece)|Pisa]] in [[Ancient Elis|Elis]], on the northwest coast of the [[Peloponnesus]].

== Mythology ==
On the eve of the fateful horse race that would decide the marriage between [[Pelops]] and [[Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus)|Hippodamia]], Myrtilus was approached by Pelops (or in some accounts, by Hippodamia) who wanted him to hinder the efforts of his master, Oenomaus, to win the race. Myrtilus was offered as bribe the privilege of the first night with Hippodamia.

Myrtilus, who loved Hippodamia himself but was too afraid to ask her hand of her father, agreed and sabotaged the king's chariot by replacing the bronze linchpins with fake ones made of bees' wax. In the ensuing accident Oenomaus lost his life, cursing Myrtilus as he died. Shortly thereafter Myrtilus tried to seduce Hippodamia, who ran crying to Pelops, although Myrtilus said this was the bargain. Enraged, Pelops murdered Myrtilus by casting him into the sea off the east coast of the Peloponnesus, which was later named the [[Myrtoan Sea]] in honor of the hero. His body was later recovered and brought in the temple of Hermes where it was honored with annual sacrifices. Some say that Myrtilus was transformed into the constellation of [[Auriga (constellation)|Auriga]].

As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This curse would haunt future generations of Pelops' family, including [[Atreus]], [[Thyestes]], [[Agamemnon]], [[Aegisthus]], [[Menelaus]], [[Orestes (mythology)|Orestes]] and [[Chrysippus (mythology)|Chrysippus]]. Also, the burial place of Myrtilus was a ''[[taraxippus]]'' in Olympia.

== Notes ==
<references />

==References==
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[Sir William Smith]], ''A new classical dictionary of Greek and Roman biography, mythology and geography: partly based upon the Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology'', Harper and brothers, 1862, page 621

== Spoken-word myths - audio files ==

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! style="background:#ffdead;" | Myrtilus myths as told by story tellers
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|Bibliography of reconstruction: [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Ode,'' I (476 BC); [[Sophocles]], (1) ''Electra,'' 504 (430 - 415 BC) & (2) ''Oenomaus,'' Fr. 433 (408 BC); [[Euripides]], ''Orestes,'' 1024-1062 (408 BC); ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'', ''Epitome'' 2, 1–9; [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''Histories,'' 4.73 (1st century BC); [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fables,'' 84: Oinomaus; 224: Mortals who were made immortal; ''Poetic Astronomy,'' II (1st century AD); [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece,'' 5.1.3 - 7; 5.13.1; 6.21.9; 8.14.10 - 11 (c. 160 - 176 AD); [[Philostratus the Elder]] ''Imagines,'' I.30: Pelops (170 - 245 AD); [[Philostratus the Younger]], ''Imagines,'' 9: Pelops (c. 200 - 245 AD); [[First Vatican Mythographer]], 22: Myrtilus; Atreus et Thyestes; [[Second Vatican Mythographer]], 146: Oenomaus; [[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''Argonautica'', 1. 752; [[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 157 
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[[Category:Children of Hermes]]
[[Category:Elean mythology]]
[[Category:Aegean Sea in mythology]]
[[Category:Greek mythological heroes]]
[[Category:Ancient Olympia]]