Myrtilus
Role: charioteer of Œnomaus · First appears: Book 5 · Chapter 1
Myrtilus was the son of Hermes and charioteer to Œnomaus, seated behind the four horses. He was enamoured of Hippodamia, and in Book 8 betrayed Œnomaus after Pelops promised that, if he won, Myrtilus could spend a night with her.
When Myrtilus later reminded Pelops of the oath, Pelops threw him from a ship into the sea. His body washed ashore and was buried by the people of Pheneus. In Book 5, Pelops built a temple to Hermes and sacrificed to him for Myrtilus’s murder; in Book 6, he erected a cenotaph to Myrtilus and sacrificed to appease his anger.
Relationship record
Life events
- Pelops built Hermes a temple and sacrificed to him for killing Myrtilus.(Book 5 · Chapter 1 · 📍 Peloponnese)
- Pelops erected a cenotaph to Myrtilus and sacrificed to appease his anger for murder.(Book 6 · Chapter 20 · 📍 Olympia)
- With: Pelops
- “Pelops erected here a cenotaph to Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him to avert his anger for his murder”
- Myrtilus betrayed Œnomaus after Pelops promised him a night with Hippodamia.(Book 8 · Chapter 14)
- Pelops threw Myrtilus from a ship, after which his body was buried at Pheneus.(Book 8 · Chapter 14 · 📍 Pheneus)
- With: Pelops
- “But when he reminded Pelops of his oath he threw him out of a ship into the sea. And the dead body of Myrtilus was washed ashore, and taken up and buried by the people of Pheneus, so they say”
Book 5 · Chapter 1
- with Pelops (The passage associates Pelops with the murder of Myrtilus.) “Pelops (so the people of Elis say) was the first in the Peloponnese to build a temple to Hermes and sacrifice to him, thus turning away the wrath of the god for the murder of Myrtilus.”
Book 5 · Chapter 10
- with Œnomaus (Myrtilus is Œnomaus' charioteer.) “And Myrtilus, who was the charioteer of Œnomaus, is seated behind the four horses.”
Book 6 · Chapter 20
- with Pelops (Pelops murdered Myrtilus and sought to avert his anger.) “Pelops erected here a cenotaph to Myrtilus, and sacrificed to him to avert his anger for his murder”
- with Œnomaus (Myrtilus's contrivance disturbed Œnomaus's horses) “named him Taraxippus, because the horses of Œnomaus were disturbed by his contrivance”
Book 8 · Chapter 14
- parent: Hermes “This Myrtilus was, the Greeks say, the son of Hermes”
- employer: Œnomaus (Myrtilus served as Œnomaus' charioteer.) “charioteer to Œnomaus”
- admired: Hippodamia “Myrtilus himself was enamoured of Hippodamia”
- with Œnomaus (Myrtilus betrayed Œnomaus.) “But eventually they say he betrayed Œnomaus, seduced by the oaths that Pelops made to him”
- with Pelops (Pelops threw Myrtilus from a ship.) “But when he reminded Pelops of his oath he threw him out of a ship into the sea”
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Extracted from the original text of Pausanias' Description of Greece. Made with Rho MD.