Dymas of Phrygia

For other uses, see Dymas.

In Greek mythology, Dymas (Ancient Greek: Δύμας, romanized: Dýmas) was a Phrygian king.

Mythology

The father of Dymas was given as one Eioneus, son of Proteus, by some ancient mythographers.^[1] According to Dictys, he was a descendant of Phoenix, son of Agenor, as recounted by Helen to Hecuba to prove their kinship.^[2][3] Dymas' wife was called as Eunoë^[4] or the naiad Evagora,^[1] a daughter of the river god Sangarius. In fact, Dymas and his Phrygian subjects are closely connected to the River Sangarius, which empties into the Black Sea.

By his wife, Eunoë or Evagora, Dymas was the father of Hecuba (also called Hecabe), wife to King Priam of Troy.^[5] King Dymas is also said by Homer to have had a son named Asius, who fought (and died) during the Trojan War - not to be confused with his namesake, Asius son of Hyrtacus, who also fought (and died) before Troy. The scholiasts credited Dymas with another son, named Otreus, who fought the Amazons a generation before the Trojan War.^{[citation needed]}

The etymology of the name Dymas is obscure, although it is probably non-Hellenic.

Notes

1. Scholia ad Euripides, Hecuba 3 from Pherecydes, fr. 136 (Fowler 2013, p. 42)
2. Dictys Cretensis, 1.9
3. The kinship between Helen and Hecuba can possibly be explained with the following genealogy: Helen—Tyndareus—Gorgophone—Perseus—Danaë—Acrisius—Abas—Lynceus—Aegyptus—Belus while Hecuba—Dymas—Eioneus—Proteus—Phoenice—Phoenix—Agenor, the forefathers, Agenor and Belus, being brothers.
4. Scholia ad Homer, Iliad 16.718 with Pherecydes as the authority
5. Homer, Iliad 16.717; Apollodorus, 3.12.5; Quintus Smyrnaeus, 7.606; Scholia ad Homer, Iliad 16.718 with Pherecydes as the authority; Scholia ad Euripides, Hecuba 3 from Pherecydes, fr. 136 (Fowler 2013, p. 42)

References

• 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.
• Dictys Cretensis, from The Trojan War. The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. ISBN 978-0674995796. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. ISBN 978-0198145318. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy translated by Way. A. S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 19. London: William Heinemann, 1913. Online version at theio.com
• Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy. Arthur S. Way. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1913. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.