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24-441: Although Hippodamia does not speak within her mythologies, she is spoken about by both Onemous and Pelops. It is stated that Hippodamia is Onemous' only joy, and is a virtuous child. Onemous considered many men inferior to his daughter. Hippodamia was the daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa either by Sterope , daughter of Atlas and Pleione , Evarete , daughter of Acrisius and Eurydice , or Eurythoe , daughter of Danaus . She

48-446: A chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. In an episode that was added to the simple heroic chariot race, Pelops, still unsure of his fate, convinced Oenomaus's charioteer, Myrtilus , a son of Hermes , to help him win. Myrtilus agreed to Pelops' wishes as Pelops promised him half of Oenomaus' kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodamia. The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus's chariot together, he replaced

72-466: A cliff into the sea as he cursed him) after the latter attempted to claim Hippodamia. As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This was the source of the curse that haunted descendants of Pelops', including Atreus , Thyestes , Agamemnon , Aegisthus , Menelaus and Orestes . Also, the burial place of Myrtilus was a taraxippus in Olympia, a "horse-frightening place" during races. In memory of Oenomaus,

96-429: A cliff into the sea. As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops and Hippodamia. Although this curse didn't affect Pelops and Hippodamia's prosperity, as they came to have fourteen children, the curse was enacted and haunted Hippodamia and Pelops' children Atreus and Thyestes as well as their descendants Agamemnon , Aegisthus , Menelaus and Orestes . The first cult site of Hippodamia and Pelops appeared in Olympia, called

120-480: A monument in honor of all the suitors who preceded him, and lists their names: Pelops son of King Tantalus of Lydia, came to ask for her hand and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love ("Aphrodite's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. Pelops and Hippodamia, very much in love, devised

144-424: A plan to replace the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The race began, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Oenomaus' charioteer, Myrtilus , survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. Pelops then killed Myrtilus (by throwing him off

168-424: A prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law. So when suitors arrived, he told them they could marry his daughter only if they defeated him in a chariot race , and if they lost, they would be executed. Eighteen suitors of Hippodamia had perished in this way, and Oenamaus had affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace. Pausanias was shown what was purported to be the last standing column in

192-523: Is generally skeptical about stories of humans descending from gods, makes Oenomaus son of a mortal father, Alxion. John Tzetzes adduces a version which, in the same vein, calls Oenomaus son of a Hyperochus by Sterope. The genealogy offered in the earliest literary reference, Euripides ' Iphigenia in Tauris , would place him two generations before the Trojan War , making him the great-grandfather of

216-574: The river god Phliasian Asopus , the armed ( harpe ) spirit of a spring near Pisa) or Sterope , one of the Pleiades , whom some identify as his consort instead. He married, if not Sterope, then Evarete of Argos , the daughter of Acrisius and Eurydice . Yet others give Eurythoe , daughter of Danaus , either as his mother or consort. His children besides Hippodamia were Leucippus (who perished because of his love for Daphne ) and Alcippe (mother of Marpessa by Evenus ). Pausanias , who

240-433: The "courtship" of Hippodamia with animal husbandry taboos of Elis, and the influence of Elis at Olympia that grew in the seventh century. Oenomaus In Greek mythology , King Oenomaus (also Oenamaus ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Οἰνόμαος , Oinómaos ) of Pisa , was the father of Hippodamia and the son of Ares . His name Oinomaos denotes a wine man. Oenomaeus' mother was either naiad Harpina (daughter of

264-476: The Atreides, Agamemnon and Menelaus . King Oenomaus, fearful of a prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law, had killed eighteen suitors of his daughter Hippodamia after defeating them in a chariot race . He affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace. Pausanias was shown what was purportedly the last standing column in the late 2nd century AD; he mentions that Pelops erected

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288-695: The Hippodameion. The true location of the Hippodameion remains unknown, yet the time period is thought to be during the Late Helladic period. It was thought that the Hippodameion was located near the sacred groves within Olympia, known as the Altis , yet some historians dispute this. The Hippodameion likely contained items similar to other cults that showed up around the time period, including statues of Pelops and Hippodamia along with terracotta pots depicting their stories. Walter Burkert notes that though

312-539: The Olympic Games were created (or alternatively the Olympic Games were in celebration of Pelops' victory). Oenomaus' chariot race was one legendary origin of the Olympic Games ; one of its turning-posts was preserved, and round it grew an Elean legend of a burnt "house of Oenomaus", reported by Pausanias in the 2nd century AD. Cypselus Cypselus ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Κύψελος , Kypselos )

336-403: The baby once it was born; however, Herodotus says that the newborn smiled at each of the men sent to kill it, and none of them could go through with the plan. An etiological myth-element, to account for the name Cypselus (cf. κυψέλη, kypsele , "chest") accounted how Labda then hid the baby in a chest, and when the men had composed themselves and returned to kill it, they could not find it. (Compare

360-439: The bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The race began, and went on for a long time but just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. When Myrtilus tried to claim his reward and lay with Hippodamia, Pelops killed Myrtilus by throwing him off

384-654: The former royal house of the Bacchiadae ruled for a single year each. Cypselus, the son of Eëtion and a disfigured woman named Labda , who was a member of the Bacchiad family, the ruling dynasty, usurped power, became tyrant and expelled the Bacchiadae. According to Herodotus the Bacchiadae heard two prophecies from the Delphic oracle that the son of Eëtion would overthrow their dynasty, and they planned to kill

408-495: The infancy of Perseus .) The cedar Chest of Cypselus , richly worked with mythological narratives and adorned with ivory and gold , was a votive offering at Olympia , where Pausanias gave it a detailed description in his 2nd century AD travel guide. When Cypselus had grown up, he fulfilled the prophecy. Corinth had been involved in wars with Argos and Corcyra , and the Corinthians were unhappy with their rulers. At

432-498: The late second century CE; the same author mentions that Pelops erected a monument in honor of all the suitors before himself, and enlists their names, which are as follows: Pelops, son of King Tantalus of Lydia, came to ask for Hippodamia's hand in marriage and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love (" Aphrodite 's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused

456-530: The story of the contest for Hippodamia's hand figures in the Hesiodic Megalai Ehoiai and on the chest of Cypselus (ca. 570 BCE) that was conserved at Olympia, and though preparations for the chariot-race figured in the east pediment of the great temple of Zeus at Olympia , the myth of the chariot race only became important at Olympia with the introduction of chariot racing in the twenty-fifth Olympiad (680 BCE). Georges Devereux connected

480-471: The time, around 657 BC, Cypselus was polemarch , the archon in charge of the military, and he used his influence with the soldiery to expel the Bacchiadae. He also expelled his other enemies, but allowed them to set up colonies in northwestern Greece . He also increased trade with the colonies in Italy and Sicily . He ruled for thirty years and in 627 BC was succeeded as tyrant by his son Periander , who

504-533: The tyrants upheld existing laws and customs and were highly conservative as to cult practices, thus maintaining stability with little risk to their own personal security. As in Renaissance Italy , a cult of personality naturally substituted for the divine right of the former legitimate royal house. After the last traditional king of Corinth, Telestes , was assassinated by Arieus and Perantas , there were no more kings; instead prytanes taken from

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528-539: Was considered one of the Seven Sages of Greece . The treasury Cypselus built at Delphi was apparently still standing in the time of Herodotus . Cypselus' second son Gorgus became tyrant of the Corinthian colony Ambracia , followed after his death by his son Periander of Ambracia . Another known Cypselid from Ambracia was named Archinus, whose wife later married Peisistratus of Athens . While some consider him

552-399: Was probably the sister of Leucippus and Alcippe , wife of Evenus and mother of Marpessa . Hippodamia married Pelops , son of King Tantalus of Lydia , and their children are as follows: Astydameia, Atreus , Corpreus , Dias, Eurydice, Hippalcimus, Hippasus, Lysidice, Mytilene, Nicippe, Pittheus , Thyestes , and Troezen. Hippodamia's father, King Oenomaus of Pisa, was fearful of

576-422: Was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC. With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional hereditary priest-kings ; Corinth, the richest archaic polis , led the way. Like the signori of late medieval and Renaissance Italy, the tyrants usually seized power at the head of some popular support. Often

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