Agamede

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Agamede[pronunciation?] (Greek: Ἀγαμήδη) was a name attributed to two separate women in classical Greek mythology and legendary history:

Mythological[edit]

Agamede (c. twelfth century BC) was, according to Homer, a Greek physician acquainted with the healing powers of all the plants that grow upon the earth.[1] She was born in Elis, the eldest daughter of Augeas, King of the Epeans,[2] and was married to Mulius, the first man killed in battle by Nestor during a war between Elis and Pylos.[3] Hyginus makes her the mother of Belus, Actor, and Dictys, by Poseidon.[4] She was called Perimede by both Propertius and Theocritus.[5][6] By the Hellenistic period (c. 4th to 1st centuries BC), Agamede had become a sorceress-figure, much like Circe or Medea.[7]

Historical[edit]

The hill Vounaros was the location of ancient Agemede

Agamede was a daughter of Macar, from whom Agamede, a place in Lesbos, was believed to have derived its name.[3][8] The town had already disappeared in Pliny's day.[9][10] Ancient Agamede has been identified recently with the ancient ruins on a small hill called “Vounaros” 3 km north of ancient Pyrrha.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Homer. Iliad, xi. 668.
  2. ^ Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to Mid-20th Century. Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 0-415-92040-X. 
  3. ^ a b Schmitz, Leonhard (1870). "Agamede (1) and (2)". In Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology 1. Boston. p. 57. 
  4. ^ Hyginus. Fabulae, 157.
  5. ^ Propertius. Elegies, 2.4.
  6. ^ Theocritus. Idylls, 2.10.
  7. ^ Dickie, Matthew (2004). Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World. Routledge. p. 23. ISBN 0-415-31129-2. 
  8. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Ἀγαμήδη.
  9. ^ Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia V. xxix
  10. ^ Cramer, John Anthony (1832). A Geographical and Historical Description of Asia Minor. The University Press. p. 163. 
  11. ^ Harissis H.V et al. article in Greek in Lesviaka, 19;195-212, Mytilene 2002. https://www.academia.edu/1937262/The_discovery_of_ancient_Agamede_near_Pyrrha_on_Lesbos_island_in_Greek_

Sources[edit]