16 Dec Hermione – The beautiful daughter of Menelaus and Helen of Troy and the sad game of succession
In Greek antiquity, Hermione was the daughter of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and his wife, Helen of Troy. Prior to the Trojan War, Hermione had been betrothed by Tyndareus, her grandfather, to her cousin Orestes, son of her uncle, Agamemnon. She was just nine years old when Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, arrived to abduct her mother, Helen.
During the war, Menelaus promised her to Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus. After the war ended, he sent Hermione away to the city of Phthia (the home of Peleus and Achilles), where Neoptolemus was staying. The two were married, yet, soon afterwards, Neoptolemus traveled to Delphi in order to exact vengeance against Apollo for having caused his father’s death, only to be killed there. With Neoptolemus dead, Hermione was free to marry Orestes, with whom she had a son,Tisamenus.
Mythology
Shortly after settling into the domestic life, conflict arose between Hermione and Andromache (widow of Hector, prince of Troy and elder brother of Paris), the concubine Neoptolemus had obtained as a prize after the sack of Troy. Hermione blamed Andromache for her inability to become pregnant, claiming that she was casting spells on her to keep her barren. She asked her father to kill Andromache and her son while Neoptolemus was away at Delphi, but they are saved by the intervention of Peleus.
Neoptolemus did not return from Delphi. Instead, Hermione’s cousin Orestes arrived to report that Neoptolemus had been killed. Reasons for his death vary. In some accounts, he started an altercation at the Temple of Apollo and was killed by a priest, the temple servants, or by the god himself. In other accounts, Orestes found him in Delphi and killed him. Whatever the cause, after Neoptolemus’ death, Orestes took Hermione back to Mycenae to fulfill the original promise that Hermione would be his bride.
Hermione and Orestes were married, and she gave birth to his heir Tisamenus.
SOURCE :wikipedia.org
IMAGE : ancientgreecereloaded.com
