Protesilaos
Protesilaos ( Greek Πρωτεσίλαος , Latin Protesilaus ) is in Greek mythology a Greek prince and hero at the time of the Trojan War (around the 12th or 13th century BC), a son of Iphiklos and husband of Laodameia . In the Iliad of Homer it is reported that Protesilaos led 40 black ships from Phylake ( Thessaly ) to Troy and was the first of the Greeks to be killed in a battle with the Trojans.
background
Protesilaos was one of Helena's suitors , he was the ruling prince of a Greek ruling house in Phylake and the surrounding area. Shortly before leaving for Asia, he married Laodameia. When the Greeks arrived before Troy, he was the first to jump to the shore, although he knew - according to an oracle - that the first of the Greek warriors to set foot on the Asian shore would also die first. And so, after killing several Trojans, he was slain by the Trojan prince Aeneas (alternatively also Hector , Euphorbos , Achates or Cyknos are called).
The gods granted his newly wed wife Laodameia the request to allow Protesilaos to return to the upper world for a short time, three hours. When he had to go back down to Hades , Laodameia followed him out of desperation to death. After his death his brother Podarkes took over the leadership of the troops from Phylake in his place.
Gravesite and hero cult
Protesilaos was revered as a hero among the Greeks. His grave, planted with an elm grove, was in Elaios (also: Eleus) on the southern tip of the Chersonese peninsula . It was - as the Greek historian Herodotus reports - surrounded by a kind of cult area with a temple (Heroon). There was also an oracle site that is famous in Greece, probably a dream oracle.
When Chersonese was later under Persian occupation, the Persian governor Artayktes stole the "treasures, golden and silver bowls, ore, clothing and other consecration gifts" stored there. When the Chersonese in 478 BC BC was conquered by the Athenian general Xanthippos , the father of Pericles , he had Artayktes captured and crucified for the desecration of the tomb of Protesilaos.
Alexander the Great visited in 334 BC At the beginning of his Persian campaign in a conscious political gesture, the tomb of Protesilaos was sacrificed to the gods before he - showing himself to the Greek public as the successor of the mythical hero - now crossed the Hellespont and (near Troy) set foot on the Asian shore.
The Greek poet Euripides wrote a drama entitled Protesilaos , of which only fragments have survived. At the time of the Roman Emperor Commodus, the city of Elaios minted coins with the image of Protesilaos, which show the hero standing at the bow of a ship, ready to jump to the enemy shore.
The British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have statues that experts believe are copies of an original 5th century statue that could represent Protesilaos.
literature
- Gustav Türk : Protesilaos . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 3.2, Leipzig 1909, Col. 3155-3171 ( digitized version ).
- Herodotus: Nine Books on History . Wiesbaden 2004.
- Karl Kerényi : The Mythology of the Greeks - The Gods and Human Stories. dtv, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-423-30030-2 .
- Michael Grant , John Hazel: Lexicon of ancient myths and figures . dtv, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-423-32508-9 .
- August Pauly (Ed.): Real Encyclopedia of Classical Antiquity Studies. Volume VI.1, Stuttgart 1852, p. 128.
- Robert von Ranke-Graves : Greek Mythology - Sources and Interpretation . rororo, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-499-55404-6 .
- Gisela MA Richter: A statue of Protesilaos . Metropolitan Museum Bulletin, New York.
Web links
- Protesilaos near Schwab
- Greek and Roman gods and legendary figures, letter P
- Article by Gisela MA Richter (in English with a photo of the Protesilaos statue) (PDF; 584 kB)
Individual evidence
- ^ Iliad II; Pseudo-Apollodorus. Epitome of The Library E.3.14.
- ^ Pseudo-Apollodorus. The Libraries , 3.10.8; Hyginus Mythographus , Fabulae , 97.
- ↑ a b Herodotus: Nine Books on History (IX, 116)