Hippodamia’s fallen suitors
Thought I could make a thread about each individual suitor, no real reason. The first time we hear of them is in this Hesiodic fragment:
Hesiod, The Great Eoiae Fragment 10 (from Pausanias 6.21.10) (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or 7th B.C.) :
"According to the poem the Great Eoiai, these were killed by Oinomaos (Oenomaus) : Alkathous (Alcathous) the son of Porthaon next after Marmax, and after Alkathous, Euryalos, Eurymakhos (Eurymachus) and Krotalos (Crotalus). The man killed next after them, Akrias (Acrias), we should judge to have been a Lakedaimonian (Lacedaemonian) and founder of Akria. And after Akrias, they say, Kapetos (Capetus) was done to death by Oinomaos, and Lykourgos (Lycurgus), Lasios, Khalcodon (Chalcodon) and Trikolonos (Tricolonus) . . And after Trikolonos fate overtook Aristomakhos and Prias on the course, as also Pelagon and Aiolios (Aeolius) and Kronios (Cronius)."
Two more are added In Pausanias Descriptions of Greece:
“Some add to the aforesaid Erythras, the son of Leucon, the son of Athamas, after whom was named Erythrae in Boeotia, and Eioneus, the son of Magnes the son of Aeolus.”
So there were 18 of them.
Marmax
Hippodamia’s very first suitor, we don’t know much about him, only source to give us any details about him is in Pausanias Descriptions of Greece (he actually provides us a lot of info about the other suitors too):
“Going on from this point you come to the water of Parthenia, and by the river is the grave of the mares of Marmax. The story has it that this Marmax was the first suitor of Hippodameia to arrive, and that he was killed by Oenomaus before the others; that the names of his mares were Parthenia and Eripha; that Oenomaus slew the mares after Marmax, but granted burial to them also, and that the river received the name Parthenia from the mare of Marmax.”
What I find funny about this is that we are told the names of his horses but not the names of his parents or even where he’s from lol, I couldn’t even find what the name Marmax means, but I did find out that Parthenia means maiden which is cute it’s basically the modern equivalent of naming your pet Princess/Lady, compare and contrast that with how Hades names his horses lol
Another thing that’s interesting is that Marmax only has two mares, traditionally Chariot races have four horses and even in art Oenomaus and Pelops have four horses each. No wonder Marmax lost lmaooo
Alcathous
I’ve seen like three spellings of his name lol, anyway, his name derives from the Greek (alke) meaning "strength, prowess, force" and θοός (thoos) meaning "quick, swift". So ig his name means swift strength? Cool.
Alcathous was the brother of Oeneus the guy who got knowingly cucked by Dionysus who was the King of Calydon and friend to Bellerophon in the Iliad. That would make Alcathous the son of Porthaon which makes him a prince (tho I’ve found no mention of a mother). Something interesting about this suitor is that his killer isn’t always Oenomaus and that he wasn’t even a suitor of Hippodamia at all according to The Library, Apollodorus:
“When Tydeus had grown to be a gallant man he was banished for killing, as some say, Alcathous, brother of Oeneus”
Kinda lame yes, but he makes up for it by being a vengeful ghost in Pausanias Descriptions of Greece:
“There is also a story that Pelops made here an empty mound in honor of Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him in an effort to calm the anger of the murdered man, naming the mound Taraxippus （Frightener of horses） because the mares of Oenomaus were frightened by the trick of Myrtilus. Some say that it is Oenomaus himself who harms the racers in the course. I have also heard some attach the blame to Alcathus, the son of Porthaon. Killed by Oenomaus because he wooed Hippodameia, Alcathus, they say, here got his portion of earth; having been unsuccessful on the course, he is a spiteful and hostile deity to chariot-drivers.”
Idk if it’s a translation thing but it’s kinda funny how the wording here implies that Alcathous was killed bc he flirted with Hippodamia rather than bc he lost in a race, might be incorrect but it gives a little characterization.
Now… another thing that I’ve found out that’s absolutely INSANE is that Pelops and Hippodamia named one of their sons after him PELOPS AND HIPPODAMIA HAVE A SON NAMED ALCATHOUS and he wasn’t even just some guy who exits for a more important character’s genealogy NO! He’s a warrior who killed the Lion of Cithaeron that in other sources was killed by Heracles. Pausanias Descriptions of Greece:
“Such is the account of the Megarians; but although I wish my account to agree with theirs, yet I cannot accept everything they say. I am ready to believe that a lion was killed by Alcathous on Cithaeron”
Yeah the dead Alcathous definitely passed on some of his aura to his fiancé’s child. I actually really like this bc it goes with my interpretation that Hippodamia thinks fondly of her suitors and mourns for them, yet her father keeps forcing her into participating in these races.
Euryalus, Eurymachus, Crotalus
Euryalus’ name means “broad”
Eurymachus’ name means “Broad Battle”
Crotalus’ name means “rattle” and is actually the name a genus of pit vipers, specifically rattlesnakes and… and…
Acrias
Thankfully we have some info on this guy, who seems to have been the ruler/founder of the town of Acriae. Pausanias being frustrated about not finding info on the previous three suitors is so me lmao
Pausanias Descriptions of Greece:
According to the epic poem called the Great Eoeae the next after Marmax to be killed by Oenomaus was Alcathus, son of Porthaon; after Alcathus came Euryalus, Eurymachus and Crotalus. Now the parents and fatherlands of these I was unable to discover, but Acrias, the next after them to be killed, one might guess to have been a Lacedemonian and the founder of Acriae.
If I could make an educated guess, I assume that Acrias was the son of King Lacedaemon and Queen Sparta (yes Sparta was named after a baddie) but that’s just my theory.
Capetus
Once again… I’ve come up empty…. I can’t even find the meaning of his name lol
Lycurgus
Also nothing but his name means “Wolf Deed” which is raw af
Lasios
His name means “shaggy”… I think we all have a general idea of what he looks like.
Chalcodon
Not much on him tho I have seen him confused with Chalcodon son of Abas which doesn’t make sense bc that Chalcodon married a different woman and had children. His name is also all over the place, it either means "copper tooth" or "iron tooth" or "like bronze", bro just pick one metal lmao
Tricolonus
Finally someone with a little something going on lol Pausanias Descriptions of Greece:
“Tricolonus, who, according to the Arcadians, was the descendant and namesake of Tricolonus, the son of Lycaon.”
Yes, THAT Lycaon, the werewolf of Greek mythology. Which also tells us that Tricolonus was an Arcadian prince. His name means “three-hilled” which like… ok?
Aristomachos
His name means “best in battle” couldn’t best Oenomaus that’s for sure.
Prias
Can’t even find the fucking meaning of his name I’m starting to think Alcathous raised my standards too much I keep getting disappointed. Plus it keeps trying to autocorrect to Priam lol
Pelagon
At first I thought there was nothing to this guy, but he’s actually the only suitor (to be named) to actually have a depiction in art:
His name means "of the ocean" and head is right above Hippodamia and who I assume is her nurse. What’s interesting is that he’s wearing a Phrygian cap, which implies he’s a foreigner (likely from Pelagonia). Could it be that Pelagon crossed her mind when she saw Pelops, who was from Phrygia? Especially since they likely wore similar attire?
Aeolius
His name means "quick-moving, nimble", clearly he wasn’t quick enough, or at least his horses weren’t.
Cronius
His name means “of Cronos” and is actually an epithet of Zeus… speaking of Zeus, in the same vase painting as the one with Pelagon there’s a head labeled Periphas, which means “conspicuousness” and is also the name of Zeus’s eagle, could it be that Períphās was an alternative name for Cronius?
What’s even more disturbing about this painting (other than the decapitated head) is that Pelops and Oenomaus are standing next to an altar of Zeus… Oenomaus decapitated a man who was named after Zeus and put it on the god’s altar. Was this some sort of sick joke??? I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lost fringe version where Zeus kicked Pelops out of Olympus as part of an elaborate plan to kill Oenomaus for this insult.
Erythras
His name means “Red” and no this one is not the son of Perseus, he’d be a baby at the time, at best lol. This Erythras was the founder Erythrae in Boeotia and the son of Leucon, a son of Themisto by either Athamas or Poseidon. This Athamas was the husband of Ino, yes that Ino.
Eioneus
Last but not least, Eioneus! He was the son of a man named Magnes son of Aeolus, apparently there’s a little more info about his family is a scholia of Euripides Phoenician women but I couldn’t find an English translation. Couldn’t even find the meaning of his name lol
Conclusions!
So that’s that! We as a society tend to be annoyed about Ancient Greek literature going on and on about random background characters and their families when it serves nothing to the plot, but at the same time knowing a little bit about them helps ground the story, this soldier/warrior is just some guy yes but he’s a guy who lived a life, had friends, family, hopes and dreams, they wanted to accomplish more but lost their lives in the process.
Something as little as knowing their names humanizes them, they aren’t statistics they’re human beings and that’s what makes the story all the more tragic.