Arsinoe, daughter of
Leucippus and possibly
Philodice.[2] She was also the sister of
Hilaeira and
Phoebe, who were abducted by the
Dioscuri. By the god
Apollo, Arsinoe bore
Asclepius, 'leader of men'[3] and
Eriopis 'with the lovely hair'.[4] Otherwise, the mother of Asclepius was called
Coronis, daughter of
Phlegyas because it is said that Asclepius being the son of Arsinoe, was a fiction invented by
Hesiod, or by one of Hesiod's interpolators, just to please the Messenians.[5] At Sparta she had a sanctuary and was worshipped as a heroine.[6]
Arsinoe, one of the
Minyades, according to Plutarch. These daughter of
Minyas were struck with madness and having conceived a greedy appetite for man's flesh, cast lots accordingly for their children to see who they were going to eat. Whereupon it fell to
Leucippe's lot to produce her son
Hippasus to be cut in pieces.[7]
Arsinoe or
Alphesiboea, daughter of
Phegeus, king of
Psophis in Arcadia and sister of
Pronous and
Agenor. She was the wife of
Alcmaeon, leader of the
Epigoni by whom she bore a son,
Clytius.[8] After Alcmaeon was purified from blood guilt by Phegeus for murdering his own mother
Eriphyle, Arsinoe was given in marriage to the hero who received from him the necklace of
Harmonia. Later on, her brothers, Pronous and Agenor killed Alcmaeon at the instigation of their father. When Arsinoe condemned them of the act, they clapped her into a chest and carried her to
Tegea. There they gave her as a slave to Agapenor, falsely accusing her of her husband's murder. Eventually, retribution came when the sons of Alcmaeon,
Amphoterus and
Acarnan slew their father's murderers and also Phegeus and his wife.[9]
Arsinoë of Cyprus, daughter of King Nicocreon of
Salamis in
Cyprus (descendant of
Teucer, son of
Telamon). She was loved by
Arceophon who wooed her, but the maiden's father refused to give his daughter to Arceophon because of the latter's Phoenician descent. Arceophon was upset and began to come to Arsinoe's house by night, hoping to win her heart, but in vain. He then tried to bribe Arsinoe's nurse so that she might arrange for them to meet, but Arsinoe reported this to her parents, who cut off the nurse's tongue, nose and fingers and drove her out of their house. Having lost every hope, Arceophon committed suicide by starving himself to death. The fellow citizens grieved at his death and buried him with honors. When Arsinoe leaned out of the window to take a look at the funeral ceremony, the goddess of love,
Aphrodite turned her into stone.[12]
Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pindar, The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
This article includes a list of Greek mythological figures with the same or similar names. If an
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