Pandareus

In Greek mythology, Pandareus (Ancient Greek: Πανδάρεος, romanized: Pandáreos) is the son of Merops and a nymph. His residence is usually given as either Ephesus or Miletus. Pandareus married Harmothoë and had several daughters by her before perishing for stealing a sacred dog that belonged to Zeus, king of the gods.

Mythology

Pandareus' robbery

Pandareus was said to have been favored by the goddess Demeter, who conferred upon him the benefit of never suffering from indigestion, however much food he should eat. At the request of his impious friend, Tantalus, Pandareus stole a golden dog from a sacred place to Zeus on Crete; that dog had guarded Zeus during his infancy by the will of Rhea, Zeus' mother. On the other hand, Byzantine scholar Eustathius of Thessalonica writes that rather Pandareus and Tantalus attempted to steal a mechanic dog that had been crafted by Hephaestus himself, which was placed in a temple of Zeus in Crete. Zeus then sent his son Hermes to steal the dog back and then punished the two thieves. Pandareus carried off the dog and gave it to Tantalus to hide, but when he later asked for the dog, Tantalus insisted he had never received it. Zeus punished Pandareus by turning him into stone as he stood. In other authors he fled to the island of Sicily, where he perished together with his wife Harmothoë.

Anatolia

Pandareus was the father of Aëdon (wife of Zethus), Chelidon, Cleothera and Merope; according to Pausanias, the last two were called Cameiro and Clytia. Harmothoe is confirmed to be the mother of Aëdon, Merope and Cleodora, but not Chelidon. After the death of their parents, Aphrodite took care of Cleodora and Merope, Hera taught them to be proper women, and Athena made them accomplished; but when Aphrodite went to see Zeus to get them married, storm winds carried them away to become handmaidens of the furies.

In another myth, Aëdon's husband Polytechnus came to him under the excuse that Aëdon wanted her sister Chelidon to visit her, when in fact he owed his wife a female slave. Pandareus, not suspecting a thing, let Polytechnus take Chelidon, but he proceeded to rape her and force her to serve as a slave for Aëdon. The two sisters soon escaped and ran back to Pandareus, who had Polytechnus tied, smeared with honey and left to the mercy of flies. Aëdon in pity kept the flies off of Polytechnus, angering Pandareus, his wife and his son. They were about to attack Aëdon, but Zeus interfered, and transformed them all into birds. Pandareus was changed into a sea eagle, his wife into a kingfisher, his son into a hoopoe.

See also

Other notable punishments in Greek mythology:

• Niobe
• Sisyphus
• Danaids
• Tityos

References

• Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN 978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Homer. The Odyssey, Book XIX, in The Iliad & The Odyssey. Trans. Samuel Butler. pp. 676–7. ISBN 978-1-4351-1043-4
• Pausanias, 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, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, v. 3, page 109