Oenotropae
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, the Oenotropae wine") or Oenotrophae were the three daughters of Anius
. Collectively, they were also known as the Winegrowers.
The Oenotropae included: Spermo , goddess of grain; Oeno or Oino , goddess of wine; and Elais , goddess of oil.
According to Apollodorus
, their great-grandfather was Dionysus
, and he gave them the power to change water into wine, grass into wheat, and berries into olives. For this reason no one around them ever had to starve.
According to other sources, however, the daughters were devotees of Dionysus, and the god rewarded them with the extraordinary ability to produce oil, corn, and wine from the ground or merely by touch.
When the Greek fleet set out to make war in Troy
, it was the Oenotropae who stocked their ships, and Agamemnon
was so impressed with this that he abducted them in order to feed the Greek army. The daughters escaped, but their brother betrayed them again to the Greeks. As they were about to be bound, however, Dionysus saved them by turning them into white doves
.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the Oenotropae wine") or Oenotrophae were the three daughters of Anius
Anius
In Greek mythology, Anius was a king of Delos and priest of Apollo. He was the son of Apollo and Rhoeo, daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis....
. Collectively, they were also known as the Winegrowers.
The Oenotropae included: Spermo , goddess of grain; Oeno or Oino , goddess of wine; and Elais , goddess of oil.
According to Apollodorus
Apollodorus
Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace...
, their great-grandfather was Dionysus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
, and he gave them the power to change water into wine, grass into wheat, and berries into olives. For this reason no one around them ever had to starve.
According to other sources, however, the daughters were devotees of Dionysus, and the god rewarded them with the extraordinary ability to produce oil, corn, and wine from the ground or merely by touch.
When the Greek fleet set out to make war in Troy
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, it was the Oenotropae who stocked their ships, and Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
was so impressed with this that he abducted them in order to feed the Greek army. The daughters escaped, but their brother betrayed them again to the Greeks. As they were about to be bound, however, Dionysus saved them by turning them into white doves
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
.