"[Pelops] on account of his surpassing beauty he became a minion of Poseidon, who gave him a winged chariot, such that even when it ran through the sea the axles were not wet.
Now Oinomaos (Oenomaus), the king of Pisa, had a daughter Hippodameia, and whether it was that he loved her, as some say, or that he was warned by an oracle that he must die by the man that married her, no man got her to wife; for her father could not persuade her to cohabit with him, and her suitors were put by him to death. For he had arms and horses given him by Ares, and he offered as a prize to the suitors the hand of his daughter, and each suitor was bound to take up Hippodameia on his own chariot and flee as far as the Isthmos of Korinthos (Corinth), and Oinomaos straightway pursued him, in full armour, and if he overtook him he slew him; but if the suitor were not overtaken, he was to have Hippodameia to wife. And in this way he slew many suitors, some say twelve; and he cut off the heads of the suitors and nailed them to his house.
So Pelops also came a-wooing; and when Hippodameia saw his beauty, she conceived a passion for him, and persuaded Myrtilos (Myrtilus), son of Hermes, to help him; for Myrtilos was charioteer to Oinomaos. Accordingly Myrtilos, being in love with her and wishing to gratify her, did not insert the linchpins in the boxes of the wheels, and thus caused Oinomaos to lose the race and to be entangled in the reins and dragged to death; but according to some, he was killed by Pelops.”
I was thinking about how Hippodamia literally means tamer of horses and almost all female figures from Greek Mythology with this name have either a metaphoric or direct connection with horses (Ex: Pirithous' wife who was raped by centaurs during their wedding). But for Hippodamia wife of Pelops specifically the meaning behind it can be actually much more disturbing and disgusting since her father Oenamaus was extremely possessive towards her (and depending on the sources he probably groomed her as well), and used to kill all of her suitors in horse races while she was all dressed up as a bride, before getting defeated by Pelops. And for those who don't know back in Ancient Greece having the bride being carried by the groom with a chariot was the most common wedding custom, and symbolized how she was no longer her father's property but her husband's (we're talking here about an ancient patriarchal society so yeah...). So Oenamaus not only killing her suitors, but also doing that in a way that reflected a wedding custom of that time period that included horses and naming his daughter Hippodamia as well could basically imply how he objectified her in a way that requires her to be tamed just like a horse.
CW: Abuse, Abusive Father, Sexual Harrasment, Probably eating disorder? weight gain, suicidal ideations
Hippodamia, the gorgeous princess of Pisa. Since her youth she has been told how pretty she is, how beautiful and elegant. Destined to be queen and the perfect wife of a lucky man.
As a woman in Ancient Greece, nothing, NOTHING, has more value to her than hearing the praises over her shape and poise. Specially since she's been hearing it from a very young age (remember that during those times girls were already getting married by their 15 or less, so she's been getting this comments about how she'll be "the perfect wife" someday)
Something still doesn't fit right with her about all this. While it is sweet, and flattering, she still has the dream that whoever ends up being her husband loves her not for her body, but for who she is. She wants to fall in love with a man that shows more interest in her than just her body.
And, as a girl that grew pretty much enclosed and had minimal contact with boys (as many girls were raised like that in the time period) she spends a lot of time fantasizing this amazing idea of a husband, one that is strong, brave, stoic, that could rival even the god's virility. But most importantly, that loves her completely inside out.
But sure, that won't be hard to obtain, right? Her acclaimed beauty sure will someday attract a good suitor. And she is close to the age of marriage! Her dream will come sooner than she expects. Or so she thinks...
Her father says with a smile that he deems Hippodamia still too young to marry. "What's the rush? You're so young still. Let's wait, stay with me a little longer my darling girl" he says as he touches Hippodamia's hair. She doesn't know yet why that interaction gave her chills, it felt wrong.
But father knows best, right? And mother advices to just keep our heads low and obey. She also advices Hippodamia to lock the doors of her room every night, and she orders for servanrs to always watch on her.
A few years pass like this, and Hippodamia hits 20's. She's starting to get a little "old" to marry (by the time standards) and she asks her father again about it.
Oenamous sighs and asks her what's her rush? "You're so gorgeous my darling, why do you want to leave me so soon?" Hippodamia shudders a little at that comment, it just came out.... Wrong.
Still, she pushes the matter. She has not forgotten her dream. She wishes to be a blushy bride, and don't tell anyone but she may have fantasized about her wedding night once or twice.
And then, her father grows furious at her insistence. He blows up at her as if Hippodamia had offended him greatly. Hippodamia retreats for safety, managing to escape before her father does her some harm.
Later Oenamous comes, to find her daughter again. Hippodamia is still afraid, she keeps her guard up, she has never seen her father so angry. Yet, Oenamous comes with his head down, remorseful? Who knows. He starts explaining, a story about how in his visit to Delphis, the Pythia told him of his grim end; murdered by his future son-in-law. The true reason why he has posponed Hippodamia's marriage, or so he claims.
Oenamous implores, begs Hippodamia to understand "You don't need a husband! My darling you must stay with me, forever and ever. Don't you see? You're better with me!"
The crazed look when he says this makes Hippodamia's skin crawl, as a shiver runs down her spine. Still, is it true? Is that the fate of her father? No, that cannot be...
"But if i marry right" she starts "If i marry a good man, a virtuous man, that will sure don't happen" She murmurs almost shyly, hoping Oenamous will see reason. "I wouldn't let it happen, father".
Oenamous face grows somber, and Hippodamia cowers again.
"Very well, since you're so insistent, let's put it to the test. Let's find that "virtuous man you so much crave like a harlot" he says with venom in his voice before leaving.
Hippodamia is speechless and clamy. Her father had never called such names before.
Next morning, the notice runs through all of greece; The most gorgeous, the most beautiful, the hand of princess Hippodamia is finally available. His father has promised that the suitor that beats him in a race shall win the maiden!
Suitors starts rushing in, bringing dowreys, and Hippodamia watches thruough her window at all the princes that come in troops for a chance to compete for her hand. Even with her father's weird behaviour... She's giddy and flattered.
She doesn't know what comes next.
A suitor is chosen for the first race, he salutes Hippodamia kindly, kisses her hand as he helps her to jump in the chariot. "Marmax is my name, you are more beautiful than i imagined!" He exclaims excitedly and Hippodamia giggles. He seems like a good man.
The race starts, and everything seems to be going well. But then, suddenly, a spear flies by and lands on Marmax's back. Hippodamia watches the grim scene as the point of it goes through her suitor's chest, stripping life away from him. The chariot then colapses and she falls, hurting herself, gaining new scars on her delicate white skin. Scars that will not go away.
Oenamous forgot to declare this detail, about what would happen to the losers. He boast about how no man if good enough to beat him, but that they're welcome to try.
He does not care if Hippodamia is crying close behind, craddling the body of her suitor as she gets her dress smeared with his blood. Oenamous just approaches with his sword, he pushes his daughter aside, and cuts the head of poor Marmax in front of her.
After that, the troop of suitors backs away, and Hippodamia is left alone to fend for herself.
Months pass by, Hippodamia watches herself in the mirror constantly, trying to use every powder and concoction she has to cover up the scars from the accident. A couple wounds left in her right arm from pointy rocks when she fell from the chariot. Those weren't there before, they only serve as a bad memory, she wants them GONE. Yet, she can't do anything about it. She passes her days like this, stressing on whether she is still a good enough prize to be saved.
She still locks her room every night.
Then, a new suitor, brave enough to challenge Oenamous, appears. Alcathous is his name! He comes and says "You're beauty is worth dying for!" With a smile as he winks at Hippodamia. A flirt he is! The princess is more than charmed. Thank goodness, she is still beautiful, she has hope. And maybe Alcathous can win and rescue her from this madness.
And then he doesn't. He dies, and Hippodamia gets new scars from the fall.
And it happens, again, and again. Every couple months a new poor guy winds up and gets killed by her father. Their heads are grimm reminders at the entrance of the palace.
Is too much, the fear, the anxiety, the hopelessness. She starts loosing sleep and it shows in her face. She starts growing grey hairs that make her cute blonde hair look old, some of the scars she has gained are too big to be covered with makeup.
There's little to comfort her, as she cannot leave the palace and is afraid of being alone for big periods of time due to her father. Food, food is a comfort, right? Sometimes is the only thing she has left that she could draw any enjoyment from, or a quick peace of mind.
And the stress, (and the cortisol) slowly build up, and the curves she was idolized for, the perfect shapes and proportions dissapear little by little.
One day, a man named Myrtilos cames. He makes false promises to Hippodamia the night before the race, and the poor girl allows her heart to grow hopeful. But when the morning cames, he pleads mercy to Oenamous and promises to help him instead. Oenamous agrees and Hippodamia is devastated. She asks him why he would do such a thing.
"You're not even worth fighting for" Myrtilos exclaims nervously. "But maybe if i please your father, he and i could arrange something more peaceful... But i won't risk my life for you, you are not worth that. Maybe before, but no longer. Consider yourself lucky i'm still advocating for you"
Hippodamia breaks, she cries and cries grieving her beauty. Myrtilos is right, a few months back maybe she was something worth dying for. Not anymore.
Years pass, sometimes a new poor lass comes by, but it comes to a point where it suddenly stops after the 13th man that has died. No one is no longer interested in Hippodamia, no one cares no longer.
She may had made a beautiful wife years ago, but now? Look at her.
She's 25. She's too "old" to be married. Her body is full of scars big and small, her eyebags and grey hairs make her look older than she is, and she's big to the point rumours have that she had to change her whole wardrobe for her older peplops no longer fit her.
She is no longer that petite, beautiful woman with gorgeous curves and dazzling blonde hair, she's not worth fighting for.
A punishment, Oenamous says. She has denied him, insulted him, and the gods answered by taking away her beauty.
And Hippodamia internalizes part of this, she is no longer worthy of a good marriage. She would rather die at this point. The Asphodels cannot be worse than this.
She escapes the castle one day as an impulse, why? Who knows? She just wants to run away as far as possible.
And she stumbles upon a Lydian on accident, a man that was there to do commerce for sure. She begs him for a moment to please hide her, to not let anyone else find her. She pleads and burst in tears.
But it's too late, Myrtilos had already found her. He thanks the Lydian merchant for "finding" Hippodamia and drags her along back to the castle, grabbing her arm so hard is sure to leave a mark.
Hippodamia is done, she is done. She can't no longer take this, is too much. Too much for her poor mind and body. She'd rather take her own life than see her body deteriote more, she'd rather be dead than to give her father a chance to finally burst her door at night.
And as she was walking towards her room, planning how to do it, a newcomer appears in the palace.
Is that Lydian merchant again. He claims he wants to compete for Hippodamia's hand.
"My name is Pelops, and i'm here for Hippodamia" he claims to Oenamous face.
