View source for Absyrtus

{{short description|In Greek mythology, a Colchian prince}}
{{Distinguish|Absyrtus (veterinarian)}}
[[File:Herbert James Draper, The Golden Fleece.jpg|thumb|241x241px|''The Golden Fleece'' by [[Herbert James Draper]] (1904)]]
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Absyrtus''' ([[Ancient Greek]]: Ἄψυρτος) or '''Apsyrtus''' was a [[Colchis|Colchian]] prince and the younger brother of [[Medea]]. He was involved in [[Jason]]'s escape with the golden fleece from [[Colchis]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fry |first=Stephen |title=heroes |publisher=penguin books}}</ref>
The [[Absyrtides]] were named after him.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dabsyrtides-harpers Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Absyrtides]</ref>
== Family ==
Absyrtus was the son of [[Aeëtes]], king of Colchis and a brother of [[Medea]] and [[Chalciope of Colchis|Chalciope]]. His mother is variously given: [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] calls her Ipsia,<ref>[[Scholia]] ad [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#23 23]</ref> [[Hesiod]] and the ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' call her [[Idyia]],<ref>[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]]'','' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.23&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Apsyrtus 1.9.23]; [[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/137#3.47 3.48]; In [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D938 960]: Idyia was the wife of Aeetes and the possible mother of his children including Absyrtus.</ref> [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius]] calls her [[Asterodia|Asterodeia]], a [[Caucasus|Caucasian]] [[Oceanid]]<ref>[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]]'','' [https://topostext.org/work/126 3.241]</ref> and others [[Hecate]],<ref name=":1">Diodorus Siculus, [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4C*.html#45.5 4.45.5]</ref><ref>Preston's note to Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 3.330 "''Asterodea''" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n175/mode/1up p. 168]) quoting ''"Dionysius, the Milesian, says that Hecate was the mother of Medea and Circe"''</ref> the [[Nereid]] [[Neaera (mythology)|Neaera]]<ref>Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius, 3. 242</ref><ref>Preston's note to Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 3.330 "''Asterodea''" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n175/mode/1up p. 168]) quoting ''"Sophocles assigns them, as their parent, Neera, one of the Nereids" & "Now in his hands" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n220/mode/1up p. 269]) quoting "In his Scythians, [[Sophocles]] says, that Absyrtus was not the uterine brother of Medea : they were not the offspring of one bed; the youth was newly sprung from a Nereid.—Eiduia, the daughter of Ocean, bore the virgin."''</ref> or [[Eurylyte]].<ref>Scholia ad Apollonius Rhodius,</ref><ref>Preston's note to Apollonius of Rhodes, 3.330 "''Asterodea''" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n175/mode/1up p. 168]) quoting the name of Aeetes' wife: ''"The author of the Naupactica calls her Eurylyte".''</ref>
A tradition followed by [[Pacuvius]],<ref name=":2">Cicero, ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/137#3.47 3.48]</ref> [[Junianus Justinus|Justin]],<ref>[[Justin (historian)|Justin]], [https://topostext.org/work/226#42.3 42.3]</ref> and [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]]<ref name=":1" /> provided [[Aegialeus (mythology)|Aegialeus]] as the name of the son of Aeëtes who was murdered by Medea.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|year=1849|title=Absyrtus|encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|location=Boston|url=http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0012.html|last=Schmitz|first=Leonhard|volume=1|pages=3–4|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231191519/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0012.html|archivedate=2005-12-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> Absyrtus was also called [[Phaethon]] by the sons of the Colchians because he outshone all the youths.<ref>Apollonius Rhodius, [https://topostext.org/work/126#3.210 3.245]</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Comparative table of Absyrtus' family
! rowspan="6" |Relation
! rowspan="3" |Name
! colspan="18" |Source
|-
!Hesiod
| rowspan="2" |''Naupa.''
!Soph.
! colspan="2" |Apollonius
! rowspan="2" |Pacu.
! rowspan="2" |Diod.
! rowspan="2" |Cic.
! rowspan="2" |Valer.
! rowspan="2" |Strabo
! rowspan="2" |Pliny
! rowspan="2" |Apollod.
! colspan="2" |Hyginus
!Lucian
! rowspan="2" |Aelian
! rowspan="2" |Justin
|''Orph.''
|-
|''Theog.''
|''Scyth.''
|''Argo.''
|''Sch.''
|''Fab.''
|''Sch.''
|''De Salt.''
|''Argo.''
|-
|Absyrtus
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|✓
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|Aegialeus
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|✓
|✓
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|Apsyrtus
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| rowspan="7" |''Parentage''
|Aeetes and Eurylyte
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|Aeetes and Neaera
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|Aeetes and Asterodeia
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|Aeetes and Hecate
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|Aeetes and Idyia
|✓<ref name=":3">In [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D938 960]: Idyia was the wife of Aeetes and the possible mother of his children including Absyrtus.</ref>
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|Aeetes and Ipsia
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|Aeetes
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| rowspan="3" |''Siblings''
|Medea
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|✓<ref name=":0">Medea was the half-sister of Absyrtus because the maiden's mother was Idyia, the Oceanid while that of the boy was Neera, the Nereid. Compare Preston's note to Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 3.330 "''Asterodea" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n175/mode/1up p. 168])'' & ''"Now in his hands" ([https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_TSVAAAAAYAAJ#page/n220/mode/1up p. 269])''</ref>
|✓<ref name=":0" />
|✓<ref name=":0" />
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|✓
|✓
|✓
|✓
|✓
|✓
|✓
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|Chalciope
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|✓
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|Circe
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==Mythology==
[[File:Aeetes Accepts the Dismembered Corpse of Absyrte..jpg|thumb|"Aeetes Accepts the Dismembered Corpse of Absyrte". Engraved by [[René Boyvin]] after [[Leonard Thiry]], 1563.|left]]
=== Early years ===
As a descendant of [[Helios]], Apsyrtus grew into a radiant young man and lived in his own palace, next to the loftiest building where his father, the queen and his other sisters dwelt. This can be explained by the fact that Apsyrtus was born to a Caucasian [[nymph]], Asterodeia, to Aeetes before he made Eidyia, the youngest daughter of [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] and [[Oceanus]], his wedded wife. Because his grandfather, Helios, had once betrayed [[Ares]] to the other gods for being the lover of the beautiful [[Aphrodite]], the love-goddess was extremely hostile to the descendants of Helios and none of them would experience a happy love life.
=== Civil war ===
Later on, a civil war in Colchis occurred because the brother of Aeëtes, [[Perses (brother of Aeetes)|Perses]], came with a [[Scythians|Scythian]] army to the country in order to unseat the king out off his throne.<ref>Valerius Flaccus, [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus5.html#259 265 ff.]</ref> Aeetes was aided by the [[Argonauts]] because he vowed to give the [[Golden Fleece]] to [[Jason]] in return of the favor for the incoming fight.<ref>Valerius Flaccus'','' [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus5.html#259 553 ff.]</ref>
During the battle, Apsyrtus went to the front line and wore a beautiful golden armor. He drove the golden cart of his grandfather Helios while his golden shield reflected the rays of the sun. He had a quivering spear and a threatening, gleaming helm that no one of the common people could gaze at without getting pain in their eyes. When he pursued his opponents in battle, they fled from fear and he ran over them with his horses. Groaning, the trampled warriors remained in the dust and wondered anxiously what had happened to them.<ref>Valerius Flaccus, [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus6.html 517 ff.]</ref> Finally, Aeetes with the help of the [[Minyans]] won the war and managed to chase away his brother.<ref>Valerius Flaccus'','' [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus6.html 725 ff.]</ref>[[File:Martin Didier Pape - Plaque with Medea's Murder of Absyrtus - Walters 44281.jpg|thumb|''Plaque with Medea's Murder of Absyrtus''  by Martin Didier Pape   (between 1580 and 1600)]]
=== Unexpected departure ===
When Medea fled with [[Jason]], she took her brother Absyrtus with her, and when she was nearly overtaken by her father, she murdered her brother, cut his body into pieces and strewed them on the road, so that her father might thus be delayed by gathering the limbs of his child. [[Constanța|Tomi]], the place where this occurred, was believed to have derived its name from ''temno'' ({{lang|grc|τέμνω}}, "cut").<ref>Apollodorus'','' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.24&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Apsyrtus 1.9.24] & [[Ovid]], ''[[Tristia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/663#3.9.1 3.9]; compare Apollonius of Rhodes'','' [https://topostext.org/work/126 4.338] & [https://topostext.org/work/126 4.460]</ref>
According to another tradition, Absyrtus was not taken by Medea, but was sent out by his father in pursuit of her. He overtook her in [[Corcyra]], where she had been kindly received by King [[Alcinous]], who refused to surrender her to Absyrtus. When he overtook her a second time in the island of [[Minerva]], he was slain by Jason.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#23 23]</ref> [[Apollonius of Rhodes]] presents a variation on this tradition in [[Argonautica]] (Book 4): Jason murdered Medea's brother on one of the "Brygean Islands" (an island sacred to the goddess [[Artemis]] and located in the modern [[Kvarner Gulf]]), where he was lured by Medea with false promises{{spaced ndash}}their first (and last) meeting after leaving Colchis.
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
== Sources ==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. [https://topostext.org/work/126 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[Cicero]], ''Nature of the Gods from the Treatises of M.T. Cicero'' translated by Charles Duke Yonge (1812-1891), Bohn edition of 1878. [https://topostext.org/work/137 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[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. Vol. 3. Books 4.59&ndash;8. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site]
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
*[[Gaius Valerius Flaccus|Valerius Flaccus]], ''Argonautica'' translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volume 286. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ValeriusFlaccus1.html Online version at theio.com.]
*{{DGRBM|author=WAG|title= Apsyrtus |volume=1|page=252|url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/267}}
{{Medea}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Princes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Characters in the Argonautica]]
[[Category:Mythological Colchians]]