„There are some other Greek myths which show marked similarities with the tales of Pelops and Hippodameia. These are used as explanations for certain geographical names and are fairly local in character. Marpessa, already known to Homer (Il. 9. 557), was the daughter of Euenos in Aitolia; she was said to be so beautiful that Idas, son of Aphareus, came from Messenia to ask for her hand. Euenos refused his request because he wanted his daughter to remain a virgin. Idas then went to Poseidon (his father according to the tale) and begged for a winged chariot. Poseidon consented and Idas carried Marpessa away. Her father, after chasing the couple for an extended period of time, realized that he could not catch up with them. In his madness, he killed his horses and drowned himself in a nearby river, which was later named after him. This summary clearly shows that Euenos plays the same role as Oinomaos, Idas receives a winged chariot from Poseidon like Pelops, and Marpessa very closely resembles Hippodameia. In addition, there are complicated but very close connections between the two families (Plut. Parall. min. 40; 315E): the mother of Marpessa was named Alkippe and was said to be the daughter of Oinomaos, and Euenos is said to be the son of Ares and Sterope; this is similar to Oinomaos, who is also generally believed to be the son of Ares(Paus. 5.1.6) and the husband of the same Sterope, who is referred to also as his mother in a slightly different form, Asterope (Hyginus fab. 84). It is perhaps unnecessary to try to determine which version derives from the other, especially because Aitolia and Elis – the two regions associated with these two myths – are closely related to each other culturally, even if they are separated by the Gulf of Corinth.
Another story is told about Pallene, the daughter of Sithon, king of the Odomanti in Thrace: ‘Pallene was so beautiful and charming that the fame of her went far abroad, and she was sought in marriage by wooers not only from Thrace, but from still more distant parts, such as from Illyria and those that lived on the banks of the river Tanais. At first Sithon challenged all who came to woo her to fight with him for the girl, with the penalty of death in case of defeat, and in this manner caused the destruction of a considerable number. But later on, when his vigor began to fail him, he realized that he must find her a husband, and when two suitors came, Dryas and Clitus, he arranged that they should fight one another with the girl as the prize of victory; the vanquished was to be killed, while the survivor was to have both her and the kingship. When the day appointed for the battle arrived, Pallene (who had fallen deeply in love with Clitus) was terribly afraid for him: she dared not tell what she felt to any of her companions, but tears coursed down and down over her cheeks until her old tutor realized the state of affairs, and, after he had become aware of her passion, encouraged her to be of good cheer, as all would come about according to her desires: and he went off and suborned the chariot-driver of Dryas, inducing him, by the promise of a heavy bribe, to leave undone the pins of his chariot-wheels. In due course the combatants came out to fight: Dryas charged Clitus, but the wheels of his chariot came off, and Clitus ran upon him as he fell and put an end to him. Sithon came to know of his daughter’s love and of the stratagem that had been employed; and he constructed a huge pyre, and, setting the body of Dryas upon it, proposed to slay Pallene at the same time; but a heaven-sent prodigy occurred, a tremendous shower bursting suddenly from the sky, so that he altered his intention and, deciding to give pleasure by the celebration of marriage to the great concourse of Thracians who were there, allowed Clitus to take the girl to wife.’ (Parthenios, Erotica 6 transl. S. Gaselee)”
- Transformations of Pelops: Myths, Monuments, and Cult Reconsidered by András Patay-Horváth
