Ganymede (mythology)

son of Tros in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Ganymede or Ganymedes (Greek: ΓανυμήδηGanymēdēs) was an extremely handsome youth. Homer said he was the most beautiful of all mortals.[1] He was born a prince of Troy. His parents were King Tros (from whose name "Troy" is derived), and Queen Callirrhoe, daughter of the river god Scamander.

When Zeus began lusting for the boy, he went down to Earth in the form of an eagle and took him up to Mount Olympus. There, Ganymede was made immortal. He served as the cup-bearer of the gods. To remember this event, Zeus placed Ganymede into the sky as the constellation Aquarius. Ganymede, the largest and most massive of all Jupiter's moons, was named after this mythological figure.

References change

  1. Lattimore, Richard, trans. The Iliad of Homer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951.