Gorgophone (daughter of Perseus)

For other uses, see Gorgophone.

In Greek mythology, Gorgophone (Ancient Greek: Γοργοφόνη) was queen of both Messenia and Sparta and a member of the Perseid dynasty. Her name means "Gorgon Slayer", a tribute to her father Perseus who killed Medusa, the mortal Gorgon.

Biography

Gorgophone was a Mycenean princess as the daughter of Greek hero Perseus and his wife Andromeda. She was the sister of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus of Mycenae, Autochthe, and Electryon. She was said to be buried in Argos.^[1]

Gorgophone was a prominent figure in the mythical history of Sparta, having been married to two kings: Oebalus of Laconia and Perieres of Messenia. She is considered the first woman to have married twice.^[1] As a result, many of her children's parentage is disputed. After the death of her first husband Perieres by whom she had sons Aphareus and Leucippus, Gorgophone took Oebalus as her second spouse. With him she had a daughter, Arene. Her sons Tyndareus, Icarius, and Pisus have been named as the sons of both kings, and their parentage varies between accounts.^[2]

Gorgophone's descendants played a central role in the Homeric epics and the legendary pre-history of Greece. Tyndareus was the mortal father of Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux, Timandra, and Phoebe. Icarius was the father of Odysseus's wife, Penelope. According to some sources, Lecippus' daughter Arsinoe was the lover of Apollo and the mother of the god Asclepius.^[3]

Comparative table of Gorgophone's family

Relation	Names	Sources
		Apollodorus	Pausanias		Tzetzes
					Lyco.
Parents	Perseus and Andromeda	✓
	Perseus		✓
Husband	Perieres	✓		✓	✓
	Oebalus		✓
Children	Aphareus	✓		✓	✓
	Leucippus	✓		✓	✓
	Tyndareus	✓	✓		✓
	Icarius	✓			✓
	Arene		✓
	Pisus (possibly)			✓

Notes

1. Pausanias, 2.21.7
2. Compare Apollodorus, 1.9.5 & 3.10.3 with Pausanias, 3.1.4 & 4.2.4
3. Apollodorus. Library. 3.10.

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• Myths portal

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.
• 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, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.