Ganymede
Most beautiful mortal boy, abducted by Zeus (as an eagle) to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus.
The Legend of Ganymede
Zeus kidnapped a teenager and gave his father some horses as compensation — the original divine abduction story. Ganymede was a Trojan prince, the most beautiful youth alive. Zeus, in the form of an eagle, snatched him from Mount Ida and carried him to Olympus to serve as cupbearer, replacing Hebe. To compensate Ganymede's father Tros, Zeus gave him divine horses (the same ones Laomedon later cheated Heracles of). Hera resented Ganymede's presence. The myth was used throughout antiquity to justify pederastic relationships. Plato's Phaedrus and Laws both reference it. The moon of Jupiter named Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system — a stolen boy's name orbiting the planet named for his abductor.
Parents
Tros, Callirrhoe
Symbols
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Ganymede
🗡 heroCup-bearer of the gods
A beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cup-bearer on Olympus. Ganymede became immortal and was placed among the stars as the constellation Aquarius.
Oreithyia
🗡 heroabduction
Athenian princess abducted by the North Wind Boreas, mother of the winged Argonauts Zetes and Calais.
Anchises
🗡 heroLove, royalty, Troy
Trojan prince beloved by Aphrodite and father of Aeneas, the legendary founder of Rome
Ganymede
💭 conceptAstronomy and mythology
The largest moon in the solar system, named after Ganymede, the beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus
Aethra
🗡 heroMotherhood, Captivity, Loyalty
Princess of Troezen, mother of Theseus, who became a captive slave in Troy.
Leucippus of Messene
🗡 heroFatherhood, Daughters, Spartan Rivalry
Messenian king whose daughters Hilaeira and Phoebe were carried off by Castor and Polydeuces.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.
Chrysippus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A son of Pelops whose abduction by Laius of Thebes brought a curse upon the house of Laius and introduced the theme of transgression that haunted the Oedipus cycle
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece, aided by Medea's sorcery.
Paris
🗡 heroPrince who caused the Trojan War
Paris was the Trojan prince whose judgement of three goddesses and abduction of Helen ignited the Trojan War — the most consequential act of desire in Western mythology.
Pentheus
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes torn apart by his own mother for opposing the worship of Dionysus
Heracles
🗡 heroGreatest of all Greek heroes
The son of Zeus and Alcmene who performed twelve impossible labours and was the only hero to achieve full godhood after death.