#pleisthenes

[theoihalioistuff]

Hesiod, Catalogue of Women Fr. 137b-c Most.

b. ... According to Hesiod, Aischylos and some others, Pleisthenes was the son of Atreus and Aerope; and from Pleisthenes and Kleolla, daughter of Dias, were born Agamemnon, Menelaos and Anaxibia. Because Pleisthenes died young, they were brought up by their grandfather Atreus, and so many considered them to be Atreidai. — Tzetz. Exeg. Il. 1.122 (p. 68.19 Hermann)

c. According to Homer, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the sons of Atreus, son of Pelops, and of the Cretan Aerope, daughter of Katreus; but according to Hesiod they were the sons of Pleisthenes, a hermaphrodite or disabled person, who wore women’s clothing. — Schol. in Tzetz. Exeg. Il. 1.122 (p. 11 Papathomopoulos)

I've always seen Pleisthenes as just a characterless placename that was made up to lengthen the line of Tantalos (which is probably still the case); but now I'm more than intrigued.

[morgenstern-dreaming]

The trying to explode him with his mind is beautiful and the most accurate depiction of siblings ever

mycenaeanguy39458304: this guy and his brother both want to be king, chat are we cooked?

[dilutedh2so4]

Children of Menelaus

Hermione — by Helen Nicostratus — by Helen or a slave Megapenthes — by a slave, Pieris or Tereis Xenodamus — by the nymph Cnossia Aethiolas — by Helen? Maraphius — by Helen? Pleisthenes — by Helen?

Homer's Odyssey 4.5 He was bringing Alector's daughter from Sparta for his son, mighty Megapenthes, grown up, who'd been borne him by a slave. The gods no longer made a child appear for Helen after she gave birth to her first child, lovely Hermione, who had the form of golden Aphrodite.

Apollodorus' Library 3.11.1   Now Menelaus had by Helen a daughter Hermione and, according to some, a son Nicostratus; and by a female slave Pieris, an Aitolian, or, according to Acusilaus, by Tereis, he had a son Megapenthes; and by a nymph Cnossia, according to Eumelus, he had a son Xenodamus.

Pausanias' Descriptions of Greece 2.18.6   When Orestes became king of the Lacedemonians, they themselves consented to accept him for they considered that the sons of the daughter of Tyndareus had a claim to the throne prior to that of Nicostratus and Megapenthes, who were sons of Menelaus by a slave woman.

Laurentian Scholiast on Sophocles' Electra v539 [Hesiod said] Helen bare to Menelaus, famous with the spear, Hermione and her youngest-born, Nicostratus, a scion of Ares.

Venetus A Scholia on Homer's Iliad [Ariaethus said] Helen and Menelaus had a child, Maraphius, from whom the race of the Maraphii descended in the Persians: as for the Nicostratus of Cinaethon, among the Lacedaemonians two children are honored, Nicostratus and Aethiolas.

Scholia on Euripides' Andromache v898 Lysimachus and some others report that Nicostratus was also born from Helen. But the one who gathered the Cypriot tales says that it was Pleisthenes who came to Cyprus with Aganus, the child born to Alexander from Helen.

[dilutedh2so4]

I need more details of the Pleisthenes and Aganus adventures in my life

Excerpts from Kyprias, the "Kypria", and Multiformity by Jonathan Burgess (2002)

[dilutedh2so4]

Paris and Helen return to troy

Helen, Paris, Pleisenthes, and Aganus

Hecuba embracing Helen

Helen, Paris, Pleisenthes, and Aganus pt.2

[dilutedh2so4]

so i'm trying to do a thing (everything subject to change)

but in the meantime here's some headcanons:

>Aganus was conceived and born during the travel from Sparta to Troy. He's closest to Pleisthenes because they were the only kids on board, so had lots of time to play together :)

>Agelaus and his wife's neighbours thought it was weird they didn't see signs of pregnancy before baby Paris appeared. They were also quite old, so everyone assumed he was illegitimate. Paris would get teased because of it, but Agelaus assured him he was a miracle, and so he developed his "haughty" attitude seen in Euripides as a defence mechanism

>Usually I view Hermione as Helen's only child with Menelaus, however I am desperately invested in Pleisthenes and Aganus' adventures so.... Pleisthenes was born prematurely, directly after Menelaus returns from Troy for his fertility thing, and so Helen takes him with her as he's still quite weak

>I give Helen and Paris all of their referenced children because you just know they kept at it ;)

>Corythus 2 was named in memory of Corythus 1, as Paris and Helen were both feeling devastated after his murder (which in my mind happens right after Troilus' death, to add extra angst and clouded mindedness)

[dilutedh2so4]

Teucer settles in Cyprus after the war, which is also where Aganus will be with Pleisthenes...

Much potential for half-Greek, half-Trojan angst