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Danaus
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In Greek mythology, Danaus (/ˈdæneɪ.əs/,[1] /ˈdæni.əs/;[2] Ancient Greek: Δαναός Danaós) was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's Iliad, "Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and "Argives" commonly designate the Greek forces opposed to the Trojans.
Family
[edit]Parents and siblings
[edit]Danaus, was the son of King Belus of Egypt and the naiad Achiroe, daughter of the river god Nilus,[3] or of Sida,[4] eponym of Sidon. He was the twin brother of Aegyptus, king of Egypt while Euripides adds two others, Cepheus, king of Ethiopia and Phineus, betrothed of Andromeda.
Danaides
[edit]Danaus had fifty daughters, the Danaides, twelve of whom were born to the naiad Polyxo; six to Pieria; two to Elephantis; four to Queen Europa; ten to the hamadryad nymphs Atlanteia and Phoebe; seven to an Aethiopian woman; three to Memphis; two to Herse and lastly four to Crino.[5] According to Hippostratus, Danaus had all these progenies begotten by Europa, the daughter of Nilus.[6] In some accounts, Danaus married Melia while Aegyptus consorted with Isaie,[7] these two women were daughters of their uncle Agenor, King of Tyre, and their possible sister, Damno who was described as the daughter of Belus.[8]
Mythology
[edit]Flight from Aegyptus
[edit]
After Aegyptus commanded that his fifty sons should marry the Danaides, Danaus elected to flee instead. To that purpose, he built a ship on the advice of Athena,[9] the first ship that ever was.[10] In it, he fled to Argos, to which he was connected by his descent from Io, a priestess of Hera at Argos, who was wooed by Zeus and turned into a heifer and pursued by Hera until she found asylum in Egypt. Argos at the time was ruled by King Pelasgus, the eponym of all autochthonous [indigenous] inhabitants who had lived in Greece since the beginning, also called Gelanor ("he who laughs"). The Danaides asked Pelasgus for protection when they arrived, the event portrayed in The Suppliants by Aeschylus. Protection was granted after a vote by the Argives.
When Pausanias visited Argos in the 2nd century CE, he related the succession of Danaus to the throne, judged by the Argives, who "from the earliest times ... have loved freedom and self-government, and they limited to the utmost the authority of their kings":
- "On coming to Argos he claimed the kingdom against Gelanor, the son of Sthenelus. Many plausible arguments were brought forward by both parties, and those of Sthenelas were considered as fair as those of his opponent; so the people, who were sitting in judgment, put off, they say, the decision to the following day. At dawn a wolf fell upon a herd of oxen that was pasturing before the wall, and attacked and fought with the bull that was the leader of the herd. It occurred to the Argives that Gelanor was like the bull and Danaus like the wolf, for as the wolf will not live with men, so Danaus up to that time had not lived with them. It was because the wolf overcame the bull that Danaus won the kingdom. Accordingly, believing that Apollo had brought the wolf on the herd, he founded a sanctuary of Apollo Lycius."[11]
The sanctuary of Apollo Lykeios ("wolf-Apollo", but also Apollo of the twilight) was still the most prominent feature of Argos in Pausanias's time: in the sanctuary, the tourist might see the throne of Danaus himself, an eternal flame, called the fire of Phoroneus.
Murdered bridegrooms
[edit]
When Aegyptus and his fifty sons arrived to take the Danaides, Danaus gave them in order to spare the Argives the pain of a battle. However, he instructed his daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Forty-nine followed through and subsequently buried the heads of their bridegrooms in Lerna;[12] but one, Hypermnestra, refused because her husband, Lynceus, honored her wish to remain a virgin. Danaus was angry with his disobedient daughter and threw her to the Argive courts. Aphrodite intervened and saved her. Lynceus and Hypermnestra then began a dynasty of Argive kings (the Danaid Dynasty).[13] Some sources relate that Amymone, the "blameless" Danaid,[14] and/or Bryce (Bebryce)[15] also spared their husbands.
Aftermath
[edit]After his sons' deaths, Aegyptus escaped to Aroe in Greece and died there. His monument was shown in the temple of Serapis at Patrae.[16]
In some versions, Lynceus later killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers.
The remaining forty-nine Danaides had their grooms chosen by a common mythic competition: A foot-race was held, and the order in which the potential Argive grooms finished decided their brides (compare the myth of Atalanta). Two of the grooms were Archander and Architeles, sons of Achaeus: They married Scaea and Automate, respectively.[17]
In later accounts, the Danaides were punished in Tartarus by being forced to carry water in a jug to fill a bath without a bottom (or with a leak) and thereby wash off their sins, but the bath was never filled because the water was always leaking out.[18][19]
Danaus in Rhodes
[edit]Another account of the travels of Danaus gave him three daughters, Ialysos, Kamiros and Lindos, who were worshipped in the cities that took their names in the island of Rhodes, Ialysos, Kamiros and Lindos (but see also Cercaphus). According to Rhodian mythographers who informed Diodorus Siculus,[20] Danaus would have stopped and founded a sanctuary to Athena Lindia on the way from Egypt to Greece.[9] Herodotus heard that Danaus's daughters founded the temple at Lindos.[21] Ken Dowden observes[22] that once the idea is dismissed that myth is directly narrating the movements of historical persons, that the loci of Danaian institutions at Lindos in Rhodes as well as at Argos suggest a Mycenaean colony sent to Rhodes from the Argolid, a tradition, in fact, that Strabo reports.
Other feats
[edit]Danaus was credited as the inventor of wells and is said to have migrated from Egypt about 1485 B.C. into that part of Greece previously known as Argos Dipsion. Notes in Pliny the Elder's, Natural History also added that:
- "He [i.e., Danaus] may have introduced wells into Greece, but they had, long before his time, been employed in Egypt and in other countries. The term "Dipsion," "thirsting," which it appears had been applied to the district of Argos, may seem to render it probable, that, before the arrival of Danaus, the inhabitants had not adopted any artificial means of supplying themselves with water. But this country, we are told, is naturally well supplied with water."
The town Apobathmi in ancient Argolis took its name from Danaus landing at this spot.[23]
The Danais
[edit]The epic Danais[24] was written by one of the cyclic poets; the name of the author and the narration of these events does not survive,[25] but the Danaid tetralogy of Aeschylus undoubtedly draws upon its material. It is represented in the table of epics in the received canon on the very fragmentary "Borgia table"[26] as "Danaides".
A U.S. federal judge used the version of the legend in which the Danaides are forced to perform an impossible task as a simile for the judge's task of determining whether a case "arises under" the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.[27]
Argive genealogy
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "Danaos" Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
- ^ Wells, John C. (2000) [1990]. Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (new ed.). Harlow, England: Longman. p. 199. ISBN 978-0-582-36467-7.
- ^ Apollodorus, 2.1.4
- ^ Malalas, 2.30
- ^ Apollodorus, 2.1.5
- ^ Tzetzes, Chiliades 7.37, p. 370–371
- ^ Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Notes on Book 3.1689
- ^ Gantz, p. 208; Pherecydes fr. 21 Fowler 2000, p. 289 = FGrHist 3 F 21 = Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, 3.1177-87 ff.
- ^ a b Apollodorus, 2.1.4
- ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 7.191 & 206
- ^ Pausanias, 2.19.3-4
- ^ The Helladic site at Lerna is related in myth to the pool of the Lernaean hydra; compare the heads ritually buried in marshlands in northern Europe: see Bog body.
- ^ Apollodorus, 2.1.5; Hyginus, Fabulae 168; Pausanias, 2.19.6 & 2.20.7
- ^ Scholia on Pindar, Pythian Ode 9.200
- ^ Eustathius on Dionysius Periegetes, 805
- ^ Pausanias, 7.21.13
- ^ Pindar, Pythian Ode 9.117; Pausanias, 7.1.6
- ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4. 462; Heroides 14; Servius on Virgil, Aeneid 10.497
- ^ The Danish government's third world aid agency's name was changed from DANAID to DANIDA in the last minute when this unfortunate connotation was discovered.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, 5.58; Strabo, 14.2.6
- ^ Herodotus, 2.182
- ^ Dowden, The Uses of Greek Mythology 1992:64
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Apobathmi
- ^ Danais is also a genus of butterfly, lepidopterists being prone to supplying classical names for butterflies.
- ^ A later poet quoted two lines.
- ^ W. McLeod, "The "Epic Canon" of the Borgia Table: Hellenistic Lore or Roman Fraud?" Transactions of the American Philological Association 115 (1985:161f).
- ^ For instance, Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. v. Isley, 690 F.2d 323, 328 n. 4 (2d Cir. 1982); NUI Corp. v. Kimmelman, 593 F.Supp. 1457, 1464 (D. N.J. 1984).
References
[edit]- 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. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Diodorus Siculus, Diodorus Siculus: The Library of History. Translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.Online version at the Lacus Curtius: Into the Roman World.
- Fowler, R. L. (2000), Early Greek Mythography: Volume 1: Text and Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0198147404.
- Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).
- Herodotus, The Histories with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses, Brookes More. Boston. Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Pausanias, Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Pindar, Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Pliny the Elder, The Natural History. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Tzetzes, Chiliades, editor Gottlieb Kiessling, F.C.G. Vogel, 1826. Google Books. (English translation: Book I by Ana Untila; Books II–IV, by Gary Berkowitz; Books V–VI by Konstantino Ramiotis; Books VII–VIII by Vasiliki Dogani; Books IX–X by Jonathan Alexander; Books XII–XIII by Nikolaos Giallousis. Internet Archive).
External links
[edit]
Danaus
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Identity and Background
Etymology
The name Danaus (Ancient Greek: Δαναός) serves as the eponym for the Danaans (Δαναοί), a collective term frequently employed by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey to designate the Greeks, particularly in epic contexts alongside "Achaeans" and "Argives." The etymological origin of "Danaoi" remains uncertain and is often attributed to a pre-Greek substrate language, with no clear Indo-European root identified in ancient sources or modern scholarship.[6] In post-Homeric Greek tradition, the name is mythologically derived from Danaus himself, who, according to accounts such as those preserved in Strabo citing Euripides, renamed the Pelasgian inhabitants of Argos as Danaans upon his arrival, establishing a dynastic link to the region's ruling lineage associated with the Perseids.[7] This eponymous role underscores Danaus as the legendary progenitor of the Danaans, integrating the term into broader narratives of Greek ethnogenesis.[6] Ancient texts present variations in the nomenclature tied to Danaus's purported foreign origins, portraying him as a king of Libya or Egypt through his father Belus, a mythical ruler often linked to both regions in Hellenistic accounts like those of Diodorus Siculus. These associations suggest possible influences from Egyptian or Libyan onomastics, though no direct linguistic parallels have been conclusively established.[8] Scholarly interpretations have occasionally connected the name to aquatic or riverine motifs, drawing on Danaus's maternal lineage from the naiad Achiroe, daughter of the river god Nilus, to propose symbolic ties to water as a theme of migration and fertility in the myth, though this remains speculative rather than etymologically grounded.[9]Role in Greek Mythology
Danaus holds a pivotal role in Greek mythology as the eponymous ancestor of the Danaans (Danaoi), a collective term frequently employed by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey to denote the Greek warriors, interchangeably with Achaeans and Argives.[10] This nomenclature underscores Danaus's foundational significance in epic tradition, where the Danaans represent the heroic Greek host besieging Troy, evoking a shared cultural identity rooted in his legendary lineage.[11] His eponymous connection extends to other early poetic works, reinforcing his status as a progenitor figure in the mythic genealogy of the Hellenes. As a culture hero and king, Danaus symbolizes the fusion of foreign and indigenous elements in Greek lore, originating from Libyan or Egyptian territories before establishing sovereignty in Argos and laying the groundwork for its royal dynasty.[1] This narrative arc links purported Eastern origins—often tied to the wanderings of Io—to the heroic foundations of Argos, portraying Danaus as a civilizing force who introduces or reinforces monarchical and ritual practices in the Peloponnese.[12] Such depictions highlight his role in etiological myths that explain the cultural ties between Greece and the Nile region, positioning him as a bridge between disparate worlds in the ancient imagination.[5] Literary portrayals of Danaus vary across surviving sources, with Aeschylus's Suppliants presenting him as a prudent patriarch leading his daughters to Argos in pursuit of sanctuary, thereby embodying themes of supplication, xenophilia, and the evasion of destructive familial strife such as forced unions or potential patricidal conflicts.[4] In this tragedy, his counsel emphasizes diplomatic refuge over violence, contrasting with later accounts and illustrating his multifaceted character as both protector and strategist.[13] While these dramatic treatments offer vivid insights, ancient coverage of Danaus's myth remains patchy beyond poetic fragments and tragic innovations, with non-Apollodoran variants often limited to allusions in historians like Herodotus or scholiastic notes, leaving gaps in comprehensive prose narratives from earlier epochs.[14]Family
Parentage and Siblings
In Greek mythology, Danaus was the son of Belus, a mythical king associated with Egypt and Libya, who himself was the offspring of the god Poseidon and the nymph Libya, daughter of Epaphus. Belus ruled over Egypt, and he established his lineage as part of the broader genealogy tracing back to Io through Epaphus and the river-god Nilus. This paternal heritage underscores Danaus's connection to the eastern Mediterranean and North African regions, positioning him as a figure bridging Libyan and Egyptian traditions with Greek heroic narratives.[15] Danaus's mother was Anchinoe (also spelled Achiroe), a naiad nymph and daughter of the river-god Nilus, which emphasized a watery, divine lineage tied to the Nile's fertile and mystical qualities. Some variant accounts name his mother as Sida, the latter being an eponymous figure linked to the Phoenician city of Sidon, reflecting regional adaptations in the myth's transmission.[16] These maternal figures highlight the mythological motif of river-nymphs as progenitors of royal lines, symbolizing abundance and migration across water.[15][17] Danaus was the twin brother of Aegyptus (also called Egyptus), who ruled over Arabia and fathered fifty sons, forming a parallel dynasty that would later intersect with Danaus's own lineage. According to some traditions, such as those preserved by Euripides, Belus and Anchinoe also had additional sons, including Cepheus and Phineus, expanding the family's scope to include figures prominent in other myths, like Cepheus's role in the Andromeda story. Belus settled Danaus in Libya, reinforcing his foundational ties to that region before his eventual migration. Danaus himself fathered fifty daughters, known collectively as the Danaides.[15][17]The Danaides
The Danaides were the fifty daughters of Danaus, a mythical king associated with the Belus lineage as the grandson of Poseidon through his son Belus. Born to Danaus by various mothers, they are collectively known in ancient Greek mythology as a group symbolizing the female descendants of this Egyptian prince who settled in Argos. The mothers are enumerated differently across sources, but common accounts attribute twelve daughters to the Libyan naiad Polyxo, four to the Phoenician princess Europa (daughter of King Agenor), ten to the hamadryad nymphs Phoebe and Atlanteia, six to the nymph Pieria, two to the nymph Elephantis, and the remainder to figures such as an unnamed Ethiopian woman, the nymph Memphis, the nymph Herse, and possibly the nymph Crino.[18][19][20] Notable among the Danaides are Hypermnestra, daughter of Elephantis, who is distinguished in tradition for sparing her husband Lynceus, and Amymone, daughter of Europa, linked to Poseidon as the mythical founder of the Amymone spring near Lerna in Argolis.[15][19] Other individuals occasionally highlighted include the sisters Automate, Agave, and Scaea, also daughters of Europa. The Danaides served as eponymous figures for the women of Argos, from whom the broader term "Danaans" (used by Homer to denote the Greeks) may derive, and they were mythically connected to the priestesses of Hera in that city.[21] Lists of the Danaides' names appear in ancient sources but vary significantly, reflecting the oral and textual evolution of the myth. Pseudo-Apollodorus' Bibliotheca (2nd century BCE compilation) provides partial groupings, such as the Europa-born quartet mentioned above, while Hyginus' Fabulae (1st century CE) offers a more extensive catalog of fifty names, including Atlanta, Isonoe, and Phaedime, often paired with etiological notes on their origins. Fragments attributed to Hesiod's Catalogue of Women (c. 7th century BCE) reference some Danaides in genealogical contexts but preserve no complete roster. Surviving texts reveal gaps, with incomplete maternal attributions for many daughters and scant individual backstories beyond a few prominent figures, likely due to the myth's development across epic, tragic, and prose traditions.[15][3][22]Core Mythology
Conflict with Aegyptus
Danaus and his twin brother Aegyptus, both sons of Belus, ruled adjacent territories: Danaus in Libya and Aegyptus over the region he named after himself following the subjugation of the Melampods. Aegyptus fathered fifty sons, while Danaus had fifty daughters known as the Danaides. The sons of Aegyptus demanded marriage to their cousins, the Danaides, as a means to forge a dynastic alliance and resolve underlying familial rivalries over inheritance and power.[15] Danaus vehemently refused this proposal, driven by a profound distrust of his nephews' intentions, which he believed masked ambitions to usurp his authority. According to Aeschylus's account in the Suppliants, the demand represented a coercive imposition, prompting Danaus to prioritize his daughters' autonomy and safety over patriarchal expectations of union.[21][15] The conflict escalated when the sons of Aegyptus followed Danaus to Libya, seeking to compel the marriages. This aggression forced Danaus into a desperate position, highlighting the era's tensions around familial control and the perils of refusing dynastic imperatives. Ancient interpretations often framed the dispute through lenses of incestuous overtones—given the cousin unions—and broader patriarchal dominance, portraying the Danaides' plight as a resistance against enforced submission in non-Greek, "barbarian" contexts.[21][15]Flight to Argos
Fleeing the pursuit of his brother Aegyptus's sons, who sought to marry his daughters by force, Danaus resolved to escape Libya with his fifty daughters, the Danaides.[15] Under the guidance of Athena, Danaus constructed the first ship in history, marking a pivotal innovation in navigation.[15] This vessel enabled their maritime journey from Libya across the Mediterranean.[15] The voyage first brought them to Lindos on the island of Rhodes, where Danaus established a cult site by setting up an image of Athena Lindia, honoring the goddess who aided their flight.[15] From there, they sailed onward to Argos in the Peloponnese, the ancestral homeland tied to their lineage.[15] Upon arrival in Argos, Danaus asserted his claim to the throne based on his descent from Io, the Argive princess transformed into a cow, through his father Belus—thus positioning himself as a returning heir to the land once ruled by her progeny.[21] In one tradition, the reigning king Gelanor yielded the kingdom without battle after witnessing an omen: a wolf attacked and overcame the leading bull of a herd before the city, symbolizing Danaus's triumph over the incumbent, as the wolf represented the cunning exile prevailing over the established ruler.[23] An alternative account, preserved in Aeschylus's Suppliant Women, depicts the Danaides beseeching King Pelasgus for sanctuary upon landing; Pelasgus, after consulting an assembly, granted protection due to their shared Io heritage, effectively affirming Danaus's authority.[21] This flight not only secured Danaus's rule but also introduced seafaring and shipbuilding to Argos, transforming the inland kingdom into a maritime power and embedding navigation in its foundational myths.[15]The Wedding and Massacre
Upon arriving in Argos after their flight from Egypt, the sons of Aegyptus pursued Danaus and his daughters, demanding that the Danaides marry them to reconcile the familial enmity.[15] Despite his deep distrust of his nephews' intentions, Danaus reluctantly consented to the unions under the duress of their persistent threats and the pressure of Argive mediation.[15] He distributed his fifty daughters to the fifty sons of Aegyptus by lot, pairing each Danaid with a specific bridegroom, such as Hypermnestra with Lynceus and Gorgophone with Proteus.[15] At the wedding feast, Danaus secretly provided each of his daughters with a dagger, instructing them to slay their husbands that night while the bridegrooms slept, motivated by his fear that the marriages would enable Aegyptus's sons to overthrow him and seize control of Argos.[15] The Danaides, acting on their father's command, carried out the massacre using these concealed weapons, resulting in the deaths of forty-nine bridegrooms.[24] Ancient accounts describe the killings as occurring with swords or daggers during the wedding night, emphasizing the betrayal's immediacy and horror.[24] One exception marked the event: Hypermnestra spared her husband Lynceus, reportedly because he honored her request to preserve her virginity and did not consummate the marriage, allowing her to aid his escape.[15] This act of mercy stemmed from her compassion or a differing interpretation of her father's orders, contrasting with the obedience of her sisters.[24] The surviving Danaides then buried the heads of the slain men in the marshes of Lerna and threw their bodies into the sea.[15]Aftermath and Punishments
Fate of the Danaides
Following the massacre of their cousins, the forty-nine Danaides who committed the murders faced divine retribution in the underworld. In Hades, they were condemned to an eternal task in Tartarus: carrying water in perforated pitchers or sieves to fill a bottomless vessel or leaking basin, a futile labor mirroring the endless toil of Sisyphus that symbolized the inescapable consequences of their crimes.[15][25] Hypermnestra, the sole Danaid who spared her husband Lynceus out of compassion for his respect toward her virginity, avoided this punishment. Imprisoned briefly by her father Danaus for her disobedience, she was later acquitted through the intervention of Aphrodite in the Argive courts and reunited with Lynceus, with whom she bore a son, Abas, thereby founding the royal dynasty of Argos.[15] Before their deaths, the murderous Danaides were purified of their bloodguilt by Athena and Hermes at Zeus's command, allowing them to bury the victims' bodies and perform necessary rites without further immediate divine wrath.[26] In some variants, this purification occurred in a temple setting, and the myth connects their ordeal to the creation of springs in Argos, such as the Lernaean springs revealed through Amymone's encounter with Poseidon, evoking themes of renewal amid retribution.[25][19] The punishment's imagery underscores the Greek mythological emphasis on the futility of impious acts, particularly violations of sacred marriage bonds, and has been interpreted as a cautionary tale about the limits of female agency in enforcing patrilineal inheritance and divine order.[27][28]Danaus's Rule in Argos
Upon arriving in Argos as a fugitive from his brother Aegyptus, Danaus claimed the throne from the reigning king Gelanor, son of Sthenelas.[23] According to one account, the Argives resolved the dispute through divine omen when a wolf attacked and drove off a bull during the proceedings, interpreting it as a sign that Danaus, likened to the wolf, was fated to rule over Gelanor, the bull; Gelanor then yielded without further conflict.[23] In another tradition, Gelanor simply surrendered the kingdom to Danaus upon his arrival, allowing the exile to assume power peacefully.[15] As king, Danaus renamed the inhabitants of the region the Danaans after himself, establishing a foundational legacy for the people of Argos.[15] During his reign, Danaus addressed Argos's chronic water scarcity, a problem exacerbated by Poseidon's earlier drying of local springs in a dispute with the river god Inachus.[15] He sent his daughters, the Danaids, to search for water, during which his daughter Amymone encountered Poseidon and struck a new spring at Lerna with his trident, providing a vital water supply for the city.[15] This initiative is credited with introducing systematic access to fresh water in Argos, marking Danaus as a pioneer in hydraulic infrastructure.[15] Additionally, he founded a sanctuary to Apollo Lykeios, dedicating a wooden cult image and a throne, along with pillars bearing images of Zeus and Artemis, thereby enriching the religious landscape of the kingdom.[23] In his later years, Danaus sought to secure marriages for his surviving daughters following the massacre of Aegyptus's sons. He organized athletic contests in Argos, awarding the hands of the 49 Danaids (excluding Hypermnestra) to the victors as prizes.[15] For Hypermnestra, who had spared her husband Lynceus, Danaus eventually reconciled and formally united the couple.[15] In some variants, Lynceus killed Danaus in revenge before succeeding him as king of Argos, founding a new dynasty and ending the direct line of Danaid rulers.[15][23]Other Associations
Myths in Rhodes
During his flight from the sons of his brother Aegyptus, Danaus and his fifty daughters, the Danaids, made a significant stopover at Lindos on the island of Rhodes. There, they founded a sanctuary dedicated to Athena Lindia, establishing an important cult site that linked the island to the broader mythic narrative of their journey. According to Herodotus, the temple was founded by the Danaids themselves as they sought refuge during their escape from Egypt. Diodorus Siculus elaborates that Danaus received a warm welcome from the local inhabitants upon landing at Lindos, prompting him to construct the temple and dedicate a wooden statue of the goddess; he notes that three of Danaus's daughters perished on the island, their burial marking a poignant episode before the group sailed onward to Argos.[29][30] Local Rhodian myths portray Danaus as an early settler and contributor to the island's religious landscape, integrating him into the prehistoric traditions of Rhodes. The island's primordial inhabitants were the Telchines, enigmatic sea-daemons renowned as metalworkers and magicians who were said to have first populated Rhodes before Danaus's arrival, creating a layered mythic history where his stopover represents a transitional phase in settlement lore. Furthermore, Rhodes connects to Heracles through his son Tlepolemus, a later colonizer who subdued the Telchines and established Dorian rule, thus associating Danaus's fleeting presence with the island's heroic genealogy.[31][32] Some variant traditions attribute to Danaus three daughters named Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos, who served as eponyms for Rhodes's three ancient cities—Ialysos, Kamiros, and Lindos—and were objects of local worship, though the standard accounts emphasize the fifty Danaids collectively. Archaeological evidence from the Lindos acropolis confirms the temple's archaic origins, with structures dating to the late 6th century BCE and continuous use into the Hellenistic period, but no material links directly verify the Bronze Age mythic figure of Danaus, underscoring the legends' etiological role in explaining cult foundations. These Rhodian associations remain primarily literary, with limited epigraphic or artifactual corroboration, and exhibit variations across local oral traditions that prioritize the island's ties to eastern Mediterranean wanderers.[33][34]Inventions and Feats
In Greek mythology, Danaus is credited with constructing the first ship, a pivotal innovation that enabled his flight from Egypt to Argos with his fifty daughters, the Danaïdes. Advised by Athena, he built the vessel to escape the pursuing sons of his brother Aegyptus, marking the inaugural seafaring expedition in mythological tradition and symbolizing early maritime prowess.[15] To resolve the challenge of finding suitable husbands for his daughters after their arrival in Argos, Danaus organized the earliest recorded footrace, where suitors competed and the victors selected brides in order of finish. This event, held to distribute the Danaïdes fairly, is described as a clever stratagem that influenced later Greek customs, such as the Spartan king Icarius's similar contest for Penelope's suitors.[35] The lost epic Danais, attributed to a cyclic poet, portrays Danaus's daughters arming themselves for battle along the Nile, highlighting his role in mobilizing a defensive force against their cousins in Egypt before the flight. This narrative variation emphasizes Danaus's strategic leadership in a martial context, diverging from accounts focused solely on the massacre and emphasizing preparation for conflict.[6] Modern scholars interpret these tales through an euhemeristic lens, viewing Danaus as a folkloric representation of historical migrations from Egypt or the Near East to the Peloponnese around the Late Bronze Age, potentially reflecting cultural exchanges or population movements that shaped Argive identity. Such readings connect the myth to broader patterns of origin stories, where legendary figures like Danaus embody real historical processes of settlement and innovation in early Greek society.[36]Legacy
Argive Genealogy
Danaus's integration into the Argive royal lineage begins with his ancestral descent from Io, the daughter of Inachus, the primordial river-god and first king of Argos. Io, pursued by Zeus and transformed into a white cow by the jealous Hera, fled across continents to Egypt, where she bore Epaphus to the god. Epaphus, in turn, fathered Libya with the nymph Libye; Libya and Poseidon produced twin sons, Belus and Agenor, with Belus as the father of Danaus and his brother Aegyptus. This Egyptian lineage, rooted in Io's Argive origins, provided mythological justification for Danaus's claim to the throne of Argos upon his arrival, portraying him as a returning heir to the Inachid dynasty.[21][15] The descendants of Danaus continued the Argive line through his daughter Hypermnestra, the sole Danaid to spare her husband Lynceus during the infamous bridal massacre. Lynceus, a son of Aegyptus, succeeded Danaus as king of Argos and fathered Abas with Hypermnestra. Abas begat the twin brothers Acrisius and Proetus; Acrisius ruled Argos and became the grandfather of Perseus through his daughter Danaë, whom Zeus impregnated in the form of a golden shower. Proetus, meanwhile, ruled Tiryns, establishing a parallel branch. This succession marked the end of direct Danaid rule, as the throne passed to the sons of Lynceus, blending Egyptian and Argive bloodlines.[15][23] Ancient sources preserve these genealogies in fragmented or narrative forms, with Hesiod's Catalogue of Women offering brief allusions to Danaus's role in Argos, such as his transformation of the waterless land into a fertile domain through the introduction of wells—echoing his daughters' names as "well-watered ones." The catalogue links Danaus indirectly to broader heroic lineages but focuses more on his daughters' fates than a full tree; fuller accounts appear in later compilations like Apollodorus's Library, which outlines the chain from Io to Perseus systematically. No complete diagrammatic tree survives from antiquity, but the lineage can be represented as follows:| Generation | Key Figures | Relation to Danaus | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ancestors | Io (daughter of Inachus) | Great-great-grandmother | Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 44-85[21] |
| Epaphus (by Zeus) | Great-grandfather | Apollodorus, Library 2.1.4[15] | |
| Libya | Grandmother | Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 44-85[21] | |
| Belus (by Poseidon) | Father | Apollodorus, Library 2.1.4[15] | |
| Danaus (son of Belus) | Progenitor | Apollodorus, Library 2.1.4[15] | |
| Descendants | Hypermnestra (daughter) + Lynceus (nephew/husband) → Abas | Grandson | Apollodorus, Library 2.1.5[15] |
| Abas → Acrisius (and Proetus) | Great-grandsons | Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.16.3[23] | |
| Acrisius → Danaë → Perseus (by Zeus) | Great-great-grandson | Apollodorus, Library 2.4.1[15] |