myVamsam Wiki

Aegina

A nymph, daughter of the river god Asopus, carried off by Zeus to a previously uninhabited island later named for her, where she became the mother of Aeacus.

Accounts of this vary across texts and traditions. This entry primarily follows Greek mythology (Hesiod and Homer), with other tellings (Homer (Iliad and Odyssey), Ovid's Metamorphoses (Roman retelling), Regional and later Greek and Roman tradition) noted where relevant.

Explore in the family tree →

Relationships

Spouse
Zeus
Children
Aeacus

Introduction

Aegina is a nymph, daughter of the river god Asopus, abducted by Zeus, in most tellings in the form of an eagle or a burst of flame, and carried to a small island in the Saronic Gulf, thereafter named Aegina in her honour, where she bore him a son, Aeacus.

Family

Abduction and the island

Asopus pursued Zeus in search of his missing daughter, but was driven off, according to some versions, by one of Zeus's own thunderbolts. On the island, Aegina bore Aeacus, who grew up largely alone there until Zeus, at his request, populated it with people transformed from ants (the Myrmidons, a name meaning "ant-people"), a detail that connects directly to the later Trojan War, since the Myrmidons are the soldiers famously led by Achilles, Aeacus's great-grandson.

Sources

  1. Metamorphoses, Book 7 (primary text) — https://www.theoi.com/Text/OvidMetamorphoses1.html

This entry is independently written for myVamsam using the sources listed above. Where traditions differ, this entry identifies the relevant tradition rather than presenting one account as universally established fact.