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Aethra (mother of Theseus)

In Greek mythology, Aethra or Aithra (English: /ˈiːθrə/;[1] Ancient Greek: Αἴθρα, pronounced [ǎi̯tʰra], the "bright sky")[2] was a Troezenian princess and the daughter of King Pittheus.

For other uses, see Aethra (Greek mythology).

Aethra

Pittheis

Troezen, then Athens, Sparta and Troy

Pittheus

Henioche

(i) Poseidon
(ii) Aegeus
(iii) Hippalces

(i) & (ii) Theseus
(iii) Clymene

Family[edit]

Aithra was the mother of Theseus (his father was King Aegeus of Athens, or in some versions, Poseidon) and of Clymene (by Hippalces).[3][4] Aethra was also called Pittheis after her father Pittheus.[5]

Mythology[edit]

Early life[edit]

Bellerophon came to Troezen to ask Aethra's father, Pittheus, for the maiden's hand in marriage, but the hero was banished from Corinth before the nuptials took place.[6]

Aethra Showing her Son Theseus the Place Where his Father had Hidden his Arms by Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1768)

Aethra Showing her Son Theseus the Place Where his Father had Hidden his Arms by Nicolas-Guy Brenet (1768)

Thésée retrouve l'épée de son père by Nicolas Poussin & Jean Lemaire (circa 1638)

Thésée retrouve l'épée de son père by Nicolas Poussin & Jean Lemaire (circa 1638)

Theseus Discovering his Father's Sword by Antonio Balestra (1st half of 18th century)

Theseus Discovering his Father's Sword by Antonio Balestra (1st half of 18th century)

In popular culture[edit]

With significant alterations to the character, a version of this Aethra appears (as "Aithra"), a sorceress and concubine of Poseidon, in Richard Strauss's famous opera Die ägyptische Helena (The Egyptian Helen).

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.

Apollodorus

Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Bacchylides

Bacchylides, The Poems and Fragments. Cambridge University Press. 1905. .

Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library

Bell, Robert E., Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary. . 1991. ISBN 9780874365818, 0874365813.

ABC-Clio

, 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.

Dictys Cretensis

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.

Gaius Julius Hyginus

The Greek Myths, Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. ISBN 978-0143106715

Graves, Robert

Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.

Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus

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

Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. .

Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library

The Epistles of Ovid. London. J. Nunn, Great-Queen-Street; R. Priestly, 143, High-Holborn; R. Lea, Greek-Street, Soho; and J. Rodwell, New-Bond-Street. 1813. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Publius Ovidius Naso

. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. s.v. Aethra. London (1848).Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

William Smith