Tebaide

Speranza Laio, re di Tebe. Crisippo, figlio di Pelope, re di Pisa. Tantalo, the king of Sipylus - the first city built by man - was a son of Zeus and also a great friend of his. The king of the gods confided many secrets in him, and often invited him up to Mount Olympus at banquet time, to partake of divine nectar and ambrosia. Tantalo however, swollen with pride, betrayed Zeus' trust, revealing his secrets and stealing Olympian food for his mortal friends to taste. One time, having invited the gods to a feast in his home and wanting to serve only the very best, he had his son, Pelops, whose name means "muddy face", cut into pieces and boiled, without a word to the mother, Dione. The gods did not touch their food, all except Demeter, who was so distracted by the recent loss of Persephone, her daughter, that she bit into the shoulder - the cut of honour - on her plate. For his crimes Tantalus' kingdom was laid waste. Tantalo died by Zeus's own hand and was cast into Tartarus, the deepest pit of Hades, for eternal torment, doomed amidst plenty to suffer hunger and thirst. Having punished the father, Zeus set upon the task of restoring Pelope to life. Giove ordered Erme to gather all the pieces, and to return them to the cauldron, upon which Giove laid a spell. There they were set to boil again, and the Fate Klotho joined the pieces back together. Demeter replaced the shoulder she had eaten with one made of the purest ivory. This mark - of the white shoulder - in years to come was to mark all the descendants of Pelops. Rhea, the mother of all the gods, breathed new life into him as Pan was dancing a dance of joy around the fire. Pelope rose renewed from the pure cauldron, and though he had been handsome before, his beauty was now beyond compare. Nettuno, the god of the seas, saw the radiant Pelope and instantly fell in love with him. Nettuno's heart broken by desire, he ran after Pelope, lifted him into his chariot drawn by golden horses, and took him up to Mount Olympus. Dione, his mother, in vain sent men through Sipylus to search for him, for they found no trace of Pelope. Up on Mount Olympus Nettuno appointed Pelope to be his cup-bearer and lover. Nettuno fed Pelope on ambrosia, taught him to drive his magic chariot and would have kept him there forever, but the other gods, still smarting over the experience with the father, banished Pelope back to earth. Nettuno sadly parted from his friend, but not before heaping great treasure upon him. Later, when the first beard began to darken his cheeks, Pelope fell in love with the enchanting Ippodameia, daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa. Enoma however had been warned by an oracle that he would meet his death at the hands of his son in law. Oenomaus had decreed that whoever wanted to win her hand had to beat him in a chariot race or lose his life. He had no fear of losing. Enomao's mares were the fastest in all of Greece, divine horses given to him by his father, Ares, the god of war, and his charioteer, Mirtilo (hence Myrtoan Sea) was a son of Hermes and a horseman without compare. Twelve brave princes had already come as suitors, only to perish under his bronze lance. Pelope, no mean driver of horses himself, having learned the skill from Nettuno, took no chances. Pelope went down to the sea shore, and called on his old lover and teacher for assistance: "Listen, Nettuno, if you had any pleasure in our love, Aphrodite's sweet gift, block the brazen spear of Enomao, and grant that my chariot will be the speedier one." "It is for me to risk my life, and for you to help me win." Nettuno, glad to help, gave him a golden chariot that could roll over the ocean waves without getting wet, drawn by a team of winged horses, tireless and immortal. Back at the palace, Pelope, still worried about the race, bribed Mirtilo, promising him the first night with Hippodameia. Myrtilus, who secretly loved Hippodameia, sabotaged the king's chariot. When the race began Pelope took off like an arrow. King Oenomaus, with Mirtilo at the reins, raced madly after him, but just as he drew close and was about to run Pelope through with his spear and rip out his life, the wheels of his chariot flew off, his chariot broke into pieces, and he, tangled in the reins, was dragged to death by his own horses. Thus Pelope won Hippodameia's hand, and with it the throne of Pisa. But he no longer had any need of Mirtilo and murdered him before the bargain could be fulfilled. Pelope and Ippodameia had many children, and Pelope fathered yet another with the nymph Astioche, a bastard son named Crisippo, but the curse of Mirtilo was upon all their heads and Hermes saw to it that it would be accomplished. To atone for the death of Oenomaus, Pelope founded a great festival to be held every four years in the king's honor, named the Olympic Games. Later, Herakles (who was Pelope's great-grandson) decreed that Pelope was the one to be honoured, and that sacrifices to him should take place even before those to father Zeus. Pelope was a great king, and all of western Greece was named after him. Even today we call that land "Pelops' Island" - Peloponessus. CITATION: Editorial Board, World History of Male Love, "Greek Mythology", Posiedon and Pelops, 1999