The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics) (7 page)

The mainland of Greece is divided into two by the Gulf of Corinth, which separates the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece, being joined to it only by the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. Starting immediately north of the Gulf, the swathe of land extending from Aetolia across to Thessaly in the northeast is the area primarily associated with the first family, the Deucalionids. Although this was an important area in early myth, there were many separate centres, and these tended to be associated with major heroic myths for only a generation or two. Furthermore, many members of this family moved to fresh areas at various stages and established new dynasties, whether in the north, or in the western Peloponnese and the south. As a result, the structure of this family is rather complex, and we do not find extensive lines within individual centres as in most of the following families. The Aetolian royal line covered in the second table
(IB)
was descended from a daughter of Aiolos; the most important town in Aetolia was Calydon, the site of the first great adventure which drew heroes from all parts of Greece, the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. The descendants of the sons of Aiolos covered in the third table (
IC
) were primarily associated with Thessaly (but also with the western Peloponnese and elsewhere); here Iolcos, the home of Pelias and Jason, and Pherae, the home of Admetos and Alcestis, are the most significant towns.

South of the Gulf of Corinth, in the Peloponnese, the most important region was not Laconia (Sparta) as in historical times, but Argos with its great Mycenaean cities, Mycenae, Argos, and Tiryns. Here the second family, the Inachids, provided the main ruling line. Although it was of Argive origin (the Inachos was the largest river in Argos), other branches of this family ruled
in Crete and in Thebes. Passing north from Argos and then across the Isthmus of Corinth, Boeotia, with Thebes as its main city, lies to the left, and Attica to the right. In mythical history Thebes ranked with Argos as the most important centre.

Of the Atlantids, two main lines are covered in the following tables, the earliest royal line in the second main centre in the Peloponnese, Laconia, and the Trojan royal line.

The Asopid family tree is exceptional, as it was developed to account for the common descent of the two greatest heroes of the Trojan War, Achilles and Aias (who came from different areas) as grandsons of Aiacos (who reigned in a different area again). This was a relatively late development; in the
Iliad
the pair are not related. Aiacos was the first king of Aegina, a small island in the Saronic Gulf, which lies between Attica and the Peloponnese. Both of his sons were exiled. Telamon, father of Aias, went to the island of Salamis, not far to the north; Peleus eventually arrived in Thessaly where he became the father of Achilles by the goddess Thetis.

This leaves the Athenian royal line and the Pelopids. The Athenian genealogies were systematized at a relatively late period, and none of the figures before Aigeus and Theseus are associated with major heroic myth. The first four kings were earth-born. The Pelopids provided the second royal line in each of the main centres of the Peloponnese, Argos and Laconia; for Agamemnon, who ruled in Mycenae at the time of the Trojan War, and Menelaos, who ruled in Sparta, did not belong to the original ruling families covered in tables
IIB
and in
IIIA
, but were descended from Tantalos, who lived in Asia Minor, and his son Pelops, who became king of Pisa in the north-western Peloponnese. The Pelopids were displaced when Tisamenos, who ruled in both Argos and Laconia, was killed by the returning Heraclids (who were of Inachid descent).

In the following tables:

The parentage of children is indicated by
swung dashes
(~); where both parents are mortals, these will usually indicate a marriage also.

The names of successive kings within each centre are set in
bold type
, and the order of succession is indicated by small
letters before their names
(a, b, c
, etc.). The order of succession is not indicated for the Argive line in
IIB
because of the complexities which arise after the kingdom is divided between Proitos and Acrisios.

In
IC
only the Iolcian line is indicated, and in v only the Mycenaean. For the Laconian succession after Amyclas, in
IIIA
, the account in 3.10.4 is followed; 3.10.3 should be consulted for alternative genealogies.

Where it has been necessary to divide family trees into two or more tables, the names of pivotal figures who appear in more than one table are enclosed in
boxes
.

NB. There was disagreement on many genealogies. These tables show the main lines as presented in the text of the
Library
, without indicating alternative traditions recorded in other sources, or variants mentioned within the
Library
itself.

The purpose of these tables is to give a clear picture of the descent and interrelationship of the more important figures, and they are by no means complete. In particular, many marriages yielded more children than are named in the tables, and the fact that names have been omitted is not always indicated; and for reasons of clarity, the names of mothers have sometimes been omitted, and children are not always presented in their order of birth. For the full picture, the text should be consulted.

The tables for the Deucalionids and Atlantids do not cover all branches of the family.