"Pelops son of Tantalos, as payment for giving up his youthful beauty, got a team of unbroken horses from Poseidon along with a chariot. He then hurried off to Pisa in hopes of marrying Hippodameia, desirous of prevailing over her father, the suitor-killing Oinomaos. When he was in the area of the Troad called “Lesbotis,” beside the region of the Andraioi, his charioteer Cillos died. Cillos visited Pelops, who was greatly grieving his death, in a dream. He lamented his own demise and demanded Pelops provide him a proper funeral. Because of this, when Pelops woke up, he burned Cillos’ image in fire, and then buried his ashes in grand fashion, heaping a burial mound on top of him and building a shrine next to it. He called it the shrine of Apollo Cillaios because of the fact that Cillos died unexpectedly. What is more, he also founded a city and called it Cilla. Cillos, meanwhile, evidently assisted Pelops even after death, helping him defeat Oinomaos in the race." -D Scholia to the Iliad
Ares not doing shit about his son Oenomaus grooming his daughter Hippodamia and even giving him a chariot and horses is example # 262525 that Ares isn’t some unproblematic feminist protector of women lol
„Different traditions report varied accounts of other points of the myth as well: the goddess who ate a bit of Pelops is generally taken to be Demeter, but Ares is also mentioned and occasionally Thetis as well (and modern commentators even suppose that this is actually a misspelling and substitute Themis for Thetis), and the Olympian who actually revives him can be Klotho, Rhea, or Hermes. The motivations of Tantalos and Oinomaos also vary, similar to the details of the agreement with Myrtilos. Tantalos is most often portrayed as a malevolent king intending to test the omniscience of the gods, but occasionally, he is assumed to have cooked his son because he did not have enough meat to serve his divine guests or the myth about cutting Pelops is rationalized as a chirurgical operation. Oinomaos’ reason for killing the suitors of his daughter has also been debated: as Apollodoros indicates, it was either an oracle prophesizing that he will die by the hand of his son-in-law or his abnormal love for her.
There were many different traditions concerning the exact placement of the episodes, and two important details of our hero’s life, his birth and death, are not mentioned at all. Perhaps the reason for this is that his death and rebirth form an important episode of his life, and his real birth and final death were uninteresting compared to this spectacular event. His birth was generally placed in Phrygia or Lydia or Asia in general, and there were just two alternatives mentioned only by a scholion: Paphlagonia and Olenos in Achaea. Regarding his mother, she is only briefly referred to by Pindar (Ol. 1. 46) without mentioning her name and has five different names in other sources: she is either called Dione, the daughter of Atlas (as in Hyginus, fab. 72); or Euryanassa, the daughter of river Paktolos; or Eurythemiste, the daughter of Xanthos, another river god in Asia Minor; or according to Pherekydes, Klytia, the daughter of Amphidamas (who is most probably of Arkadian origins). Finally she is once called Plouto(‘Wealth’), the daughter of Kronos, who appears otherwise as the mother of Tantalos. All these names resulted most probably from ad hoc speculations. Obviously, Pelops’ mother does not play any role in the myth, similar to the shadowy mother of Hippodameia who is also given three different names: usually she is called Sterope or Asterope, but Hyginus (fab. 84) calls her Euarete, daughter of Akrisios; and an ancient commentary names her as Eurythoe, daughter of Danaos.”
- Transformations of Pelops: Myths, Monuments, and Cult Reconsidered by András Patay-Horváth
Plaques with reliefs of the hero Pelops and Hippodamia (top) and her father King Oinomaos mounting a chariot with the help of charioteer Myrtilos (bottom)
Roman, Augustan or Julio-Claudian Period, 27 B.C.-A.D. 68
Nikolaos of Damascus 25.1 fr. 10 (= Konstantinos VII Porphyrogennetos, Excerpts on Ambushes 6, p. 7.24 de Boor):
At the time of Perseus these things happened. Tantalos, son of Tmolos after whom is named Mt. Tmolos in Lydia, waged war against Trojan Ilos, king of Phrygia, was defeated in battle and left the country. He was going to emigrate to the Peloponnese but was old, so he himself remained in Lydia, sending instead to that land his son Pelops along with an army. Moving at last from Sipylos, Pelops left with his sister Niobe, bringing a lot of money. He gave his sister in marriage to the Theban Amphion and he himself went to Pisa in the Peloponnese, over which was reigning Oinomaos, the father of Hippodameia. She had many suitors, and especially Myrtilos, son of Hyperochides, who was a relative of Oinomaos. Her father, who had fallen in love with her, did not wish to give her in marriage to anyone, but she rejected his love and fled away from him. When Pelops arrived at Pisa with the big army, Oinomaos sent Myrtilos in order to investigate the reasons of his arrival, expecting he was a suitor of his daughter. Pelops replied to Myrtilos that he was there in order to settle in the country. Myrtilos replied that he could not do it easily without Oinomaos’ agreement but he himself could arrange it in his place if he promised to give him in marriage Oinomaos’ daughter after defeating him. Pelops promised and swore to do it. After that, Myrtilos went to Oinomaos and told him about Pelops’ intentions. Oinomaos gathered the army and he himself took his weapons and went out in battle in order to drive Pelops out of the country. But Pelops attacked him with his army and, at the beginning of the battle, Myrtilos, who stood beside the charioteer, struck Oinomaos with his sword and threw him from the chariot. After doing that, he joined Pelops. Once Oinomaos had fallen, his army was dispersed and all the people ran away in all directions. Pelops calmly drove his chariot to Pisa and conquered it along with the whole kingdom of Oinomaos. Later he wanted to marry Hippodameia: to do so and also to please her who asked for revenge on her father’s murderer, he led Myrtilos to the sea and drowned him. After that he married Hippodameia.
„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
The Temple of Zeus’ East Pediment is decorated with fully in-the-round, early Classical figures of Parian Marble. The pediment shows a scene during the preparation for the chariot race between Oinomaos and Pelops for the hand of Oinomaos’ daughter, Hippodamia. Oinomaos had been challenged by thirteen young suitors, who would win Hippodamia’s hand if they won, and would die if they lost. The difference this time, is that Hippodamia falls in love with Pelops, and Pelops eventually wins, defeating Oinomaos through trickery, luck or sabotage - it depends on the myth. The scene depicted shows Oinomaos and Pelops, standing with their respective brides, either side of Zeus (representing Justice) with their respective chariot teams.
The central three figures on the pediment (above) are, from the right, Oinomaos, Zeus and Pelops. Zeus, as a God, fills the centre of the pediment, ensuring unity of scale, as it stands to reason that he would be larger than mere mortals and is therefore decorous.
Pelops is a more youthful figure, standing nude with an early classical severe expression and accurate anatomy. His back is, however, for the most part unrendered, making the statue frontal despite its rounded nature. Oinomaos is the more senior figure, as denoted by his beard and confident stance. As with Pelops, Oinomaos has accurate anatomy, and has a himation, decorated with groove lines draped over his shoulders. Both figures would have had multimedia attachments such as spears or shields. It should be noted that in some reconstruction, the figures of Pelops and Oinomaos are for the most part interchangeable.
To the left of the current reconstruction, is Team Oinomaos. Oinomaos’ wife, Sterope, stands as a modest figure to his immediate left, her arms crossed in frustration, grief or perhaps thought. Her drapery makes use of groove lines to show naturalism, and there is a hint of a bust on her figure. It should be noted that the fluting on her skirt is designed to run into the lines of the triglyphs below.
Next to Sterope is Oinomaos’ team of horses, spread over several planes and receding from the front. Raised and lowered heads show the viewer that there are multiple horses there, and the rounded planes and careful placement means that they are of anatomically correct proportions, though they are a little shorter than they should be in comparison to the male and female figures. This is however, due to the sloping shape of the pediment and their presence is an attempt to maintain unity of scale.
Crouched in front and behind the horses are young boys, one of which is often identified as the boy responsible for sabotaging Oinomaos’ chariot (in some versions of the myth), whilst a crawling figure in the far corner represents a local river god, reclined to fit in the pediment and maintain the unity of scale. The river god is a spectator to the event.
To Pelops’ right is the blushing bride, Hippodamia, raising her veil with one hand to show her bare face to her potential husband, a sign of willingness to marry. This figure has a clear bust and a catenary follows the flow of the fabric between the breasts. The fluting on Hippodamia’s skirt, like her mother’s runs into the triglyph below.
The horses fill the space further down the pediment, and like those of Oinomaos, they are decorous as this side of the temple faces the Hippodrome, and relates to the Olympic setting. From below, a prospective viewer would see a mass of legs and the finely sculpted horse flesh, with a young boy crouching in front of the horses to fill space.
The one asymmetry of the pediment, is the presence of a prophet on this side. The older man (shown by his facial hair) is reclining away from the scene. His anatomy shows that his is not a warrior of hardened muscles, and his hand raised to his mouth in a show of horror shows him to be a prophet, shocked at the events to come. His expression provokes Pathos in the viewer.
The pediment for the most part, shows clear unity of theme and scale, and is relevant for the temple in many ways:
The religious site is the home of the Olympic Games - games allegedly started by this chariot race.
Zeus stands representing fairness, justice and divine intervention, the central figure on the pediment of his eponymous temple.
The religious site is located with in the Peloponnese, an area that is named for Pelops.
The pediment looks out over the Pelopion, the alleged tomb of Pelops, and the Hippodamion, the tomb of his wife.
The Horses are synonymous with sporting events, decorous for the site of the Olympics.
The scene shows the calm before the storm, and the tension building before the race and Oinomaos’ inevitable death.
