View source for Athamas

{{Short description|Greek mythological figure}}
{{about|the mythological king|the genus of jumping spiders|Athamas (spider)|the Pythagorean philosopher|Athamas of Posidonia}}[[Image:FLAXMAN John The Fury Of Athamas.jpg|thumb|right|206x206px| ''The Fury of Athamas'' by [[John Flaxman]] (1755-1826).]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Athamas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|θ|əm|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Ἀθάμας|Athámas}}) was a [[Boeotia]]n king.<ref name=":0">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Athamas 1.9.1]</ref>

== Family ==
Athamas was formerly a [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessalian]] prince and  the son of King [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]] of Aeolia<ref name=":2" /> and [[Enarete]], daughter of [[Deïmachus (mythology)|Deimachus]].<ref>Compare [[Hesiod]], ''[[Catalogue of Women|Ehoiai]]'' fr. 10(a)25–6; Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=7&highlight=Athamas 1.7.3]</ref> He was the brother of [[Salmoneus]], [[Sisyphus]], [[Cretheus]], [[Perieres (king of Messenia)|Perieres]], [[Deioneus]], [[Magnes (son of Aeolus)|Magnes]], [[Calyce (mythology)|Calyce]], [[Canace]], [[Alcyone and Ceyx|Alcyone]], [[Pisidice]] and [[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]]. 

Athamas sired several children by his first wife, the goddess [[Nephele]], and his other wives [[Ino (Greek Mythology)|Ino]] and [[Themisto]].<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Athamas 1.9.1]-[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Athamas 2]</ref> Nephele first bore to him twins, a son [[Phrixus]] and a daughter [[Helle (mythology)|Helle]];<ref name=":3">Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Athamas 1.9.1]; Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#1 1]</ref> and also a second son, [[Macistus|Makistos]].<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. ''Makistos''</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Edmunds|first=Lowell|date=2015|title=Early Greek Mythography. Volume 2: Commentary by Robert L. Fowler|journal=Classical World|volume=108|issue=2|pages=303–304|doi=10.1353/clw.2015.0005|s2cid=160893368 |issn=1558-9234}}</ref> He subsequently married [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]], daughter of [[Cadmus]], with whom he had two children: [[Learches]] and [[Melicertes]].<ref name=":3" /> By the daughter of [[Hypseus]], Themisto, he was the father of [[Sphincius]] and [[Orchomenus (mythology)|Orchomenus]]<ref name=":2">[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#1 1]</ref> or  [[Schoeneus]] and [[Leucon]]<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' 9.314</ref> and also, [[Erythrius]] and [[Ptous]].<ref name="Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, 1. 9. 2">Apollodorus, 1.9.2; [[Tzetzes]] on [[Lycophron]], 22</ref><ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' 2.1144: it appears that the scholiast believed her to be mother of [[Phrixus]] and [[Helle (mythology)|Helle]] as well.</ref>

== Mythology ==
[[File:Athamas i ino.jpg|left|thumb|304x304px|''Tisiphone maddens Athamas & Ino'' (17th century)]]
Phrixus and Helle were hated by their stepmother, Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all the town's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearby oracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus. Athamas reluctantly agreed. But, before Phrixus could be killed, he and Helle were spirited away by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, their natural mother. Helle fell off the ram into the [[Hellespont]] (which was named after her) and died, but Phrixus survived all the way to [[Colchis]], where King [[Aeëtes]] took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter [[Chalciope (daughter of Aeetes)|Chalciope]] in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king the [[Golden Fleece|golden fleece]] of the ram, which Aeëtes hung in a tree in his kingdom.<ref name=":0" /> [[File:Godfried Maes - Illustrations to the Metamorphoses of Ovid, Athamas tearing apart his Children.jpg|thumb|310px|''Athamas tearing apart his children'' by [[Godfried Maes]]]]Later, Ino raised [[Dionysus]], her nephew, son of her sister [[Semele]], causing [[Hera]]'s intense jealousy. In vengeance, Hera struck Athamas with insanity. Athamas went mad and slew one of his sons, [[Learchus]]; Ino, to escape the pursuit of her frenzied husband, threw herself into the sea with her son [[Melicertes]]. Both were afterwards worshipped as marine divinities, Ino as [[Leucothea]], Melicertes as [[Palaemon (Greek myth)|Palaemon]].<ref name=":1">[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 4.416</ref> In another version Ino killed Melicertes after finding out that Athamas was sleeping with a slave woman named [[Antiphera]].

Athamas, with the guilt of his son's murder upon him, was obliged to flee from [[Boeotia]]. He was ordered by the oracle to settle in a place where he should receive hospitality from wild beasts. This he found at [[Phthiotis]] in [[Thessaly]], where he surprised some wolves eating sheep; on his approach they fled, leaving him the bones. Athamas, regarding this as the fulfilment of the oracle, settled there and married a third wife, [[Themisto]] (sons: [[Schoeneus]], [[Leucon]], [[Ptous]] and/or others). The spot was afterwards called the Athamanian plain. When Athamas returned to his second wife, Ino,{{clarify|date=July 2018}} Themisto sought revenge by dressing her children in white clothing and Ino's in black and directed that the children in black clothes be killed. Ino switched their clothes without Themisto's knowledge, and so Themisto caused the death of her own children.<ref name=":1" />{{verify source|date=July 2018}}

According to some accounts, Athamas was succeeded on the throne by [[Presbon]].<ref>[http://www.csulb.edu/~dbouvier/Entities/i798.htm Presbon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902234218/http://www.csulb.edu/~dbouvier/Entities/i798.htm |date=2007-09-02 }}</ref> A part of Kingdom of Athamas, and himself, moved in a northwesterly direction and took roots in a part of Pindus mountains in Epirus, called [[Athamanian mountains]]. So this population was called the [[Athamanians]].{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Atamante preso dalle Furie 0014.jpg|Atamante preso dalle Furie by Arcangelo Migliarini (1801) at Roma, Accademia di San Luca
File:Athamas tue le fils d'Ino - Gaetano Gandolfi (1801).jpg|Athamas tue le fils d'Ino by Gaetano Gandolfi (1801)
File:Athamas und Ino ubs G 0732 II.jpg|Athamas und Ino by Radierung (17th century)
File:The Insane Athamas Killing Learchus, While Ino and Melicertor Jump into the Sea LACMA 65.37.123.jpg|The Insane Athamas Killing Learchus, While Ino and Melicertor Jump into the Sea by Wilhelm Janson (Holland, Amsterdam), Antonio Tempesta (Italy, Florence, 1555-1630) at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Commons category|Athamas}}
{{Reflist}}

== References ==

*[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website]. 
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[Hesiod]], ''Catalogue of Women'' from ''Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica'' translated by Evelyn-White, H G. Loeb Classical Library Volume 57. London: William Heinemann, 1914. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HesiodCatalogues.html Online version at theio.com]
*[[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling. [https://topostext.org/work/241 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]

== External links ==

* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000260 The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Athamas and Ino)]

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Aeolides]]
[[Category:Family of Athamas]]
[[Category:Princes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Mythological Boeotians]]
[[Category:Deeds of Hera]]
[[Category:Mythological Thessalians]]
[[Category:Boeotian mythology]]
[[Category:Thessalian mythology]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
[[Category:Filicide in mythology]]