dark

Who was Idomeneus? | King of Crete during the Trojan War

Total
0
Shares
0
0
0



We know him as one of the heroes of the Trojan war, a mighty ruler of Crete that supported the Achaean cause with a fleet of 80 ships. But who was really Idomeneus, and what’s the story behind this legendary king? In this episode, we talk about the life and reign of the Basileus of Crete, from his early days to his role in an immortalized campaign that brought to end the famed city of Ilion.

✅ Please SUBSCRIBE for more content.
✅ PATREON – http://patreon.com/WanaxTV

☑️ Follow WanaxTV:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/WanaxTV
Twitter – https://twitter.com/WanaxTV

▶️ Machinma:
Total War Saga: Troy
Total War ROME II – Emperor Edition
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

🎞️ Directed, narrated & animated by WanaxTV

📜 Sources & Further Read:
Homer: Iliad
Tzetzes: Homeric Allegories
Pausanias: Description of Greece

#TrojanWar #ancientgreece #achaeanhistory #bronzeage #greekmythology

12 comments

  2. Very skeptical about the earliest stories, surrounding Minos and Theseus. The premise of that story was that the Athenians (amongst others) owed tribute to the Cretans, suggesting that this happened during 'Minoan' times, which would've had to be several hundred years earlier. Of course, 'Minos' was possibly a title, or a re-used royal name, so Idomeneus' grandfather could well have been named Minos. I get the feeling that Idomeneus and his ilk, though, are Achaians, rather than the original Cretan Minoans, who were conquered around 1400 BC.

  4. You know with these promises made out of desperation the the gods, you would think they not take these promises, or words of the gods spoken by oracles so literally. I'm sure his son was not first thing he saw but perhaps a bird or a fishing boat on his approach to the city. He should have sacrificed that instead not his own son…🤦‍♂️

  8. It's very interesting that chaos ensued in pretty much every Greek kingdom after the war. Wouldn't be surprised if the Cretans that ousted Idomeneus were among the Sea Peoples that later showed up on the Nile Delta. In the tale Odysseus tells while in disguise as a Cretan prince, he mentions raiding Egypt several times before the war as well, so it must have been quite common at that point.

  10. I think it may be of interest to mention that it was the death of Idomeneus’ uncle and predecessor, Catreus (DS 5.59.1-3; [Ap.] 3.2.2), that occasioned Menelaus—a maternal (great)grandson of the late Cretan king—to leave Helen to host Paris in Sparta while he went—along with his brother Agamemnon and their cousins Palamedes, Oeax, and Nausimedon—to Crete to collect their inheritances (Dictys 1.1-4; but note the confusion of the name Catreus with Atreus).

Comments are closed.