Laodamia
heroWife of Protesilaus who embraced a wax image of her dead husband so desperately the gods briefly returned him to life.
The Myth
The gods gave her three hours with her dead husband — then she killed herself when they took him back. Protesilaus was the first Greek to die at Troy, fulfilling a prophecy. Laodamia's grief was so extreme that Hermes persuaded Hades to release Protesilaus's shade for three hours. When the time expired and he vanished, she stabbed herself. An alternate version says she made a wax effigy of Protesilaus and slept beside it; her father Acastus found it and burned the statue, and Laodamia threw herself into the fire. Euripides wrote a lost play about her. The myth directly influenced the story of Orpheus and Eurydice — both are tales of love challenging death's permanence.
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Symbols
Fun Fact
Wordsworth's poem Laodamia (1815) retells this story as a meditation on whether love justifies defying divine law.
Explore Further
Protesilaus
heroProtesilaus was the first Greek to set foot on Trojan soil — and the first to die.
Acastus
heroKing of Iolcus and Argonaut who later tried to murder Peleus by stranding him unarmed on Mount...
Orpheus
heroThe greatest musician in Greek mythology, whose playing could charm animals, trees, and even...
Bellerophon
heroThe hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and used him to slay the monstrous Chimera. His story...
Protesilaos
heroThe first Greek to die at Troy, who leapt ashore knowing a prophecy decreed the first to land would...
Sarpédon
heroSarpedon was a son of Zeus and the greatest Lycian warrior at Troy — his death forced Zeus to...
Eurydice
nymphEurydice was the nymph whose death drove Orpheus to descend to the underworld — only to lose her at...
Hades
godRuler of the underworld and lord of the dead. Despite his fearsome reputation, Hades was not evil —...
Hades (God)
godHades was the lord of the underworld who received the dead — feared but not evil, wealthy from...
Hermes
godThe swift messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld. Hermes was the cleverest of...
Hermes (Messenger)
godHermes was the messenger god, guide of souls, patron of travellers and thieves — the most versatile...
Hermes Kriophoros
godAn epithet of Hermes meaning "ram-bearer," depicting the god carrying a ram on his shoulders, an...