Pylades
Pylades was the devoted friend of Orestes who accompanied him through matricide, madness, and exile — the exemplar of loyal friendship in Greek myth.
The Legend of Pylades
The most devoted companion of Orestes, Pylades was raised alongside him in Phocis after Orestes was smuggled out of Mycenae as a child. When Apollo commanded Orestes to avenge Agamemnon by killing Clytemnestra, Pylades accompanied him without hesitation. At Mycenae, Pylades urged Orestes on when his courage wavered, helped slay Aegisthus, and stood by him as the Furies pursued. When Athena's court in Athens acquitted Orestes, Pylades married Electra. Together they later rescued Iphigenia from Tauris, where Artemis had hidden her. His loyalty rivals that of Patroclus to Achilles.
Parents
Strophius and Anaxibia
Children
Medon, Strophius (by Electra)
Symbols
Explore Further
Patroclus
🗡 heroAchilles' beloved companion
Patroclus was Achilles' closest companion whose death in borrowed armour at Hector's hands was the turning point of the Iliad.
Eribotes
🗡 heroHealing, loyalty
Argonaut who served as a healer aboard the Argo and recovered the body of his fallen companion Canthus
Iolaus
🗡 heroNephew and companion of Heracles
Iolaus was Heracles' beloved nephew and charioteer who helped him slay the Hydra by cauterising the stumps — the essential companion to the greatest hero.
Patroclus
🗡 heroThe companion whose death transformed the Iliad
Achilles's closest companion whose death in borrowed armour broke the hero's withdrawal and sent him raging back to war.
Sthenelus the Argive
🗡 heroEpigoni, Trojan War, Chariotry
Son of Capaneus, member of the Epigoni, and Diomedes' charioteer and closest companion at Troy.
Podes
🗡 heroWealth, feasting
Trojan nobleman and close companion of Hector who was valued for his hospitality
Antilochus
🗡 heroThe young warrior who died saving Nestor
The son of Nestor who died at Troy protecting his elderly father from Memnon — a sacrifice that moved Achilles to avenge him.
Actor
🗡 heroCombat, brotherhood
Argonaut who sailed with his brother Erytus and joined Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece
Anaxibia
🗡 heroMarriage, royalty
Mycenaean princess who married Strophius of Phocis and raised the young Orestes in secret
Jason
🗡 heroLeader of the Argonauts, seeker of the Golden Fleece
The hero who assembled the Argonauts and sailed to Colchis in quest of the Golden Fleece. Jason's story is one of ambition, adventure, and tragic betrayal.
Hector
🗡 heroChampion of Troy
Hector was Troy's greatest warrior, who fought not for glory but to defend his city, wife, and son.
Glaukos of Lykia
🗡 heroHonour, Lycian alliance
Lycian commander and grandson of Bellerophon who famously exchanged armour with Diomedes on the battlefield