Iphimedea had by
Poseidon the twins
Otus and Ephialtes who were called the Aloadae after their stepfather.[4] One account called these men's natural father as
Aloeus, husband and paternal uncle of Iphimede.[5] The latter mothered as well
Pancratis[6] (or
Pancrato[7]) to Aloeus. She was probably also the mother of
Elate and
Platanus, the sisters of the Aloadae.
Mythology
Early years
Iphimedeia also fell in love with Poseidon, god of the sea, and would often come to the sea shore where she poured the sea water in her lap, until the god came and answered her feelings (cf. the story of
Tyro).[8]
Thracian abduction
Iphimedia's daughter Pancratis was renowned for her beauty. When the two participated in the celebration of the
orgies of
Dionysus near Drius in
Achaea Phthiotis, they were carried off by the companions of the
Thracian king
Butes and brought to the island of Strongyle (later
Naxos) where Pancratis was given in marriage to the new king
Agassamenus and Iphimedia to a friend and lieutenant of his. Two other leaders,
Sicelus and
Hecetorus, had fought over Pancratis and killed each other (or else they were
Scellis and Agassamenus themselves). Soon after, Otus and Ephialtes, sent by Aloeus, defeated the Thracians and rescued their mother and sister but Pancratis died not much later.[9]
Connection with Hekate
Iphimedeia was one of the heroines whose spirits
Odysseus encountered at the entrance of the
Underworld.[10]
According to Pietro Scarpi, Iphimedeia should be placed in the chthonic realm as a double of
Hekate.[11]
^Pietro Scarpi, "Un teonimo miceneo e le sue implicazioni per la mitologia greca," Bolletino dell'Istituto di Filologia greca dell'Università di Padova 2 (1975) 230-51