Oenomaus
A king of Pisa who killed the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia in rigged chariot races until Pelops defeated him through trickery and divine favour
The Legend of Oenomaus
Oenomaus was the king of Pisa in the northwestern Peloponnese and the father of Hippodamia. An oracle or prophecy warned him that he would die at the hands of his son-in-law, so Oenomaus devised a deadly contest to prevent his daughter's marriage: any suitor who wished to marry Hippodamia must race Oenomaus in a chariot from Pisa to the isthmus of Corinth. The suitor would depart first with Hippodamia beside him, and Oenomaus would follow after sacrificing a ram to Zeus. If Oenomaus caught the suitor, he would spear him through. Oenomaus possessed divine horses, a gift from his father Ares, and no mortal team could outrun them. He defeated and killed twelve or thirteen suitors, nailing their heads above his palace doors as a warning. When Pelops arrived as a suitor, he either bribed or persuaded Oenomaus's charioteer Myrtilus to replace the bronze linchpins of the king's chariot with wax. During the race, the wax melted, the wheels flew off, and Oenomaus was dragged to his death by his own horses, fulfilling the prophecy he had killed so many to prevent.
Parents
Ares
Children
Hippodamia
Symbols
Fun Fact
Oenomaus nailed the severed heads of defeated suitors above his palace door — between twelve and thirteen skulls greeted every new challenger
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 herokingship
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 heroHorses, Hybris, Divine Punishment
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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Aegyptus
🗡 heroNone recorded
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Oedipus
🗡 heroKing who fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother
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🗡 herofate
Thracian king who brought white horses to Troy and was killed in his sleep by Odysseus and Diomedes on his first night.
Antinous
🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 heroNone recorded
Egyptian king who sacrificed strangers to Zeus until Heracles broke free and killed him
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🗡 heroKingship, Arcadia
King of Tegea in Arcadia and founder of the great temple of Athena Alea
Cocalus
🗡 heroNone recorded
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