Mythical Danaides: Daughters Of Danaus Condemned In Hades To Eternal Punishment

A. Sutherland – AncientPages.com – There are many crimes in ancient Greek myths. This story is about a terrible crime committed by forty-nine maidens, who were later punished for their horrible wrongdoing.

The maidens were daughters of Danaus, the son of King Belus of Egypt and the twin brother of Aegyptus.

The Danaides (1904), a Pre-Raphaelite interpretation by John William Waterhouse – Art Renewal Center – Public Domain

Driven out of Egypt by his brother, Danaus fled with his 50 daughters (the Danaides) to Argos, where he became king. Soon after that, the 50 sons of Aegyptus also arrived in Argos. The sons of Aegyptus presented themselves to Danaus’ daughters and asked to marry them, and unfortunately, Danaus – having no choice – was forced to consent to their marriage with his daughters.

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