Anaxibia
Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret
The Legend of Anaxibia
Anaxibia was a daughter of Atreus and sister of Agamemnon and Menelaus, making her a princess of the most powerful royal house in Greece. She married Strophius, king of Phocis, and bore him a son, Pylades. When Agamemnon was murdered by Clytemnestra upon his return from Troy, the young prince Orestes was smuggled to safety in Phocis. Anaxibia and Strophius raised Orestes alongside their own son Pylades, and the two boys grew up as the closest of companions. The bond between Orestes and Pylades, forged in Anaxibia's household, became one of the most celebrated friendships in Greek mythology. Without Anaxibia's protection, Orestes would likely have been killed, and the great chain of vengeance that defines the House of Atreus would have ended.
Parents
Atreus
Children
Pylades
Symbols
Explore Further
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome
Arsinoe
🗡 heroNursing, protection
Nurse or foster-mother of Orestes who saved the prince from Clytemnestra's murderous designs
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Alcimede
🗡 heroMotherhood, nobility
Noble Thessalian woman and mother of Jason, leader of the Argonauts
Oebalus
🗡 heroLaconian Kingship, Foundation
Early king of Sparta whose descendants included Castor, Pollux, and Helen.
Aethra
🗡 heroMotherhood, Captivity, Loyalty
Princess of Troezen, mother of Theseus, who became a captive slave in Troy.
Bucolion
🗡 heroHerding, nobility
Eldest but illegitimate son of the Trojan king Laomedon who was raised among herdsmen
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress princess of Colchis
Medea was a granddaughter of Helios and priestess of Hecate whose sorcery saved Jason — and whose revenge destroyed him.
Electra
🗡 heroAvenger of Agamemnon
Daughter of Agamemnon who plotted with her brother Orestes to avenge their father's murder by killing their mother Clytemnestra.
Pandion
🗡 herokingship
King of Athens who married off his daughters Procne and Philomela, both of whom suffered terribly at the hands of Tereus.
Cadmus
🗡 heroFounder of Thebes
Cadmus was the Phoenician prince who founded Thebes, sowed dragon's teeth, and brought the alphabet from Phoenicia to Greece.
Medea
🗡 heroSorceress who helped Jason, then destroyed him
A powerful sorceress and princess of Colchis who betrayed her family to help Jason win the Golden Fleece, only to be abandoned by him and take catastrophic revenge.