HIGHLIGHTS OF SKYRIAN MYTHOLOGY

HIGHLIGHTS OF SKYRIAN MYTHOLOGY NYMPHS The locations "Nyfi", "Nyfaki" and "Nyfiri" on the island of Skyros, are places where springs and waters are denotative of the worship of the Nymphs. One can also seek this form of worship there, where relative legends speak of the existence of fairies, for fairies are but the Nymphs themselves, as they have been preserved in the fantasy of the people after this worship was lost and the Nymphs were separated from the oncoming religions.       LYCOMIDIS Dominant form of Skyrian mythology. King of the region Dolopi of Skyros, home of a rough necked and pirate people, is referenced in both the death of Theseus and in the presence of Achilles on Skyros. The great space in time that these two heroes appeared in Greek Mythology may lead us to believe that Lycomides was not in fact one person but probably a king with the same name, or that the word Lycomides itself refers to the title of all Skyrian kings, just as Minos did for Crete.   THE END OF THESEUS While Theseus was away from Athens, Mnistheus, descendant of Erechtheus, tarred on the people of Athens against Theseus. Theseus then decided to become self exiled. According to another version, the grandfather of Theseus and father of Aegeus was Skyrius, whose origin was of course Skyros. Therefore, Theseus' expectations for a quiet landowners' life among friends were reasonable. He was hoping that king Lycomides of Skyros would bid him a warm welcome. And that was exactly what happened, well in the beginning at least. What happened next was that Lycomides decided to rid of him, maybe out of jealousy for Theseus' glory or the fear of losing his throne and estates from him, or maybe even because he did not want to displease Mnistheus, one cannot be too sure. So Lycomides lead Theseus to a high steep cliff pretending he would show Theseus his estates, and there Lycomides pushed Theseus off to his doom. This was the inglorious way in which Theseus departed for Hades, not on the field of battle, not inside the labyrinth, not by foe's blade but by kin's hands. ACHILLES "Alas! I will not see him revenant home to his father's house, a warm to bid him welcome!" When Thetis, Achilles' mother, received divine word on the imminent death of her heroic son, she tried to protect him. She sent him to the palace of king Lycomides of Skyros to hide him. In order for the venture to be completely successful, she disguised him in girl's clothes, so yes, for some time the great hero went about dressed as a woman. Despite his female vesture, the young and impulsive Achilles fell in love with Lycomides' daughter Diademia. Fruit of their love was Pyrros (Neoptolemus), antecessor of Olympias mother of Alexander the Great. They all lived blissfully until the time Calchas the Clairvoyant foresaw that Troy would not fall without Achilles' aid. Here comes on stage the ingenious Ulysses who dashes Thetis plans by undertaking to unveil the hero and convince him to join the campaign against Troy. So Ulysses disguised himself into a merchant and set up his merchandise right outside king Lycomides' palace. He pretended to sell all sorts of textiles and jewels, that absolutely infatuated the ladies of the court, and among them he had a sword. Some women stopped and looked at it full of curiosity, but in the end all of them passed over indifferently. All passed over the sword but one, who stood and examined it with all her interest mustered: Achilles. Ulysses approached him and as an experienced warlord, he promised young Achilles fame and glory should he choose to follow him to war. Achilles agreed without a second thought, thus securing victory against Troy. According to tradition, he set sail from Achilli bay, and thus the name.   NEOPTOLEMUS He was son of Achilles and Diademia daughter of Lycomides. His initial name was Pyrros, which came from Pyrra the female name by which his father went by, when he was hiding disguised as a woman in Lycomides Palace. Achilles himself was initially given this name from the fiery color of his hair. According now to some oracle, Troy would fall after Achilles fall, only if his son would side with him. So in order to convince young Neoptolemus to take the field along his father, the genius of Ulysses had to be summoned yet again. Ulysses, with the help of Phoenix and Diomides, convinced young Neoptolemus, despite the objections of his mother and grandfather. He was also one of the men astride the Trojan horse, thus fulfilling the prophecy stating that only one Pylean man would set foot on Troy after Achilles' death. "For I was born on sea-beaten Skyros...son of Achilles...and may that day come, when through my hand I shall release the spite of my heart to let Mycenae and Sparta know that Skyros is mother of brave men." * "And when Neoptolemus went inside Priam's palace, along with him whole the Skyrian youth would set fires".** * Sophocles' Philoctites, verses 239-240 and 324-326. The moment of identification, when young Neoptolemus meets Ulysses and Phoenix, who happened to disembark at the point where he ranged his stock, mad at his mother and grandfather for not letting him go to Troy. ** Virgil, Ainead, book II, verses 477-478. Free rendition of both excerpts.