Ganymede (Abduction)

hero

Γανυμήδης

beauty

Most beautiful mortal boy, abducted by Zeus (as an eagle) to serve as cupbearer of the gods on Olympus.

The Myth

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

eaglewine cupMount Ida

Fun Fact

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system — named after the boy Jupiter (Zeus) abducted.

Words We Inherited

English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:

ganymedecatamite

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