Editing Amphitryon

{{Short description|Figure in Greek mythology, husband of Alcmene}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox deity
| deity_of = Prince of [[Tiryns]]
| type = Greek
| name = Amphitryon
| image = Detail - "Hercules strangles the snakes" - wall painting (1st century AD) from Herculaneum, "Augusteum" called Basilica - Exhibition "Hero" up July 31, 2018 at Archaeological Museum of Naples.jpg
| caption = Amphitryon, detail of antique fresco from [[Herculaneum]].
| abode = [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]]
| symbol = 
| consort = [[Alcmene]]
| parents = [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]] and [[Astydameia]]
| siblings = [[Anaxo]]<br />[[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]]
| children = [[Laonome]]<br />[[Iphicles]]
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
| birth_place = [[Tiryns]]
}}
{{Greek mythology sidebar}}
[[File:Amphitryon.jpg|thumb|[[Book frontispiece|Frontispiece]] of the 1682 edition of [[Molière]]'s highly successful comedy [[Amphitryon (Molière play)|''Amphitryon'']], based on a [[Plautus|Plautine]] comic treatment of the myth of the [[eponym]]ous hero: the gods [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] ([[Zeus]]), disguised as Amphitryon and mounted upon an eagle, and [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] ([[Hermes]]) descend from [[Mount Olympus|Olympus]] to meddle in the affairs of the play's human characters.]]

'''Amphitryon''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|ˈ|f|ɪ|t|r|i|ən}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", [[Latin]]: Amphitruo), in [[Greek mythology]], was a son of [[Alcaeus (mythology)|Alcaeus]], king of [[Tiryns]] in [[Argolis]]. His mother was named either [[Astydameia]], the daughter of [[Pelops]] and [[Hippodamia (mythology)|Hippodamia]], or [[Laonome]], daughter of [[Guneus]], or else [[Hipponome]], daughter of [[Menoeceus]]. Amphitryon was the brother of [[Anaxo (daughter of Alcaeus)|Anaxo]] (wife of [[Electryon]]), and [[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]], wife of [[Licymnius]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'' 2.4.5</ref><ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 8.14.2</ref> He was a husband of [[Alcmene]], [[Electryon]]'s daughter, and stepfather of the Greek hero [[Heracles]].<ref name=":0">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=59}}</ref>

== Mythology ==
Born—according to tradition—in [[Tiryns]],<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Bernstein
 |first1               = Neil
 |year                 = 2017
 |chapter              = Major Themes in ''Hercules Furens''
 |title                = Seneca: ''Hercules Furens''
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=RpjmDQAAQBAJ
 |series               = Companions to Greek and Roman Tragedy
 |publisher            = Bloomsbury Publishing
 |page                 = 32
 |isbn                 = 9781474254915
 |access-date          = 30 March 2023
 |quote                = [...] Amphitryon was born in Tiryns [...].
}} 
</ref>
in [[Argolis]] in the eastern part of the Peloponnese, Amphitryon became King of [[Troezen]]<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Flaum
 |first1               = Eric
 |author-link1         = Eric Flaum
 |last2                = Pandy
 |first2               = David
 |year                 = 1993
 |chapter              = Amphitryon
 |title                = The Encyclopedia of Mythology: Gods, Heroes, and Legends of the Greeks and Romans
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=QX8rAQAAMAAJ
 |location             = Philadelphia
 |publisher            = Courage Books
 |page                 = 29
 |isbn                 = 9781561382316
 |access-date          = 31 March 2023
 |quote                = The nephew of Electryon, the King of Troezen, Amphitryon served as regent in Mycenae while Electryon was off in battle. (Amphitryon was also engaged to Electryon's daughter Alcmena at that time.)
}} 
</ref>
and regent of [[Mycenae]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Graves
 |first1               = Robert
 |author-link1         = Robert Graves
 |year                 = 1960
 |orig-date            = 1955
 |chapter              = 118: The Birth of Heracles
 |title                = The Greek Myths
 |volume               = 2
 |edition              = revised
 |location             = Harmondsworth
 |publisher            = Penguin Books Limited
 |page                 = 84
 |quote                = Electryon, son of Perseus, High King of Mycenae [...], marched vengefully against the Paphians and Teleboans. [...] While he was away, his nephew King Amphitryon of Troezen acted as regent. 'Rule well, and when I return victorious, you shall marry my daughter Alcmene,' Electryon cried in farewell.
}} 
</ref>
He was a friend of [[Panopeus (mythology)|Panopeus]].

Having accidentally killed his prospective father-in-law, Electryon, king of [[Mycenae]], Amphitryon was driven out of Mycenae by Electryon's brother, [[Sthenelus (son of Andromeda and Perseus)|Sthenelus]]. <ref>{{Cite book |last=Apollodorus |title=The library of Greek mythology |last2=Hard |first2=Robin |last3=Apollodorus |date=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-953632-0 |series=Oxford world's classics |location=Oxford |pages=69}}</ref> However, there is an earlier tradition that Amphitryon killed Electryon in a fit of anger over some cattle. <ref>Hesiod, ''The Shield of Heracles,'' 11 f. and 82</ref> He fled with Alcmene to [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], where he was cleansed from the guilt of blood by [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]], king of Thebes.

Alcmene, who was pregnant and had been betrothed to Amphitryon by her father, refused to marry him until he had avenged the deaths of her brothers, all but one of whom had fallen in battle against the [[Taphian]]s. (It was on his return from this expedition that Electryon had been killed.) Amphitryon accordingly took the field against the Taphians, accompanied by Creon, who had agreed to assist him on condition that he slew the [[Teumessian fox]] which had been sent by [[Dionysus]] to ravage the Theban countryside.

The Taphians, however, remained invincible until [[Comaetho]], the king's daughter, out of love for Amphitryon, plucked out the single golden hair of her father, [[Pterelaus (son of Taphius)|Pterelaos]], the possession of which had rendered him immortal. Having defeated the enemy, Amphitryon put Comaetho to death and handed over the kingdom of the Taphians to [[Cephalus (son of Deione/Deioneus)|Cephalus]]. On his return to Thebes he married Alcmene, who gave birth to twin sons, [[Iphicles]] and [[Heracles]]. Only Iphicles was the son of Amphitryon - in a case of heteropaternal [[superfecundation]], Heracles was the son of [[Zeus]], who had visited Alcmene during Amphitryon's absence. Zeus, disguised as Amphitryon, described the victory over the sons of Pterelaus in such convincing detail that Alcmene accepted him as her betrothed.<ref name=":0" /> Amphitryon and Alcmene also had a daughter named [[Laonome]].

Amphitryon fell in battle against the [[Minyans]], against whom he had undertaken an expedition, accompanied by the youthful Heracles, to deliver Thebes from a disgraceful tribute. In the play [[Heracles (Euripides)|''Heracles'']] by [[Euripides]], Amphitryon survives to witness the murders of Heracles' children and [[Megara (wife of Heracles)|wife]].

==Dramatic treatments==
* ''Amphitryon'' was the title of a lost tragedy of [[Sophocles]], but most others who have used this story have rendered comic treatments instead. [[Plautus]], the Roman comedian, used this tale to present ''[[Amphitryon (Plautus play)|Amphitryon]]'', a [[burlesque]] play. The dramatic treatment by Plautus has enjoyed a sustaining presence on the stage since its premiere. It was the only play by Plautus that was still performed during the Middle Ages, albeit in a modified form. It was staged regularly during the Renaissance, and was the second ancient comedy to be translated into the English language. 
* Plautus' play inspired several other theatrical works during the 16th century, including three Spanish language plays, two Italian plays, and a comedy in Portuguese by [[Luís de Camões]]. In 1636 [[Jean Rotrou]] translated Plautus' work into a successful French language production, ''Les Deux Sosies''. This work inspired [[Molière]]'s highly successful ''[[Amphitryon (Molière)|Amphitryon]]'' (1668). From Molière's line "''Le véritable Amphitryon est l'Amphitryon où l'on dîne''," the name Amphitryon has come to be used in the sense of a generous entertainer, a good host; the Spanish word for "host" is in fact "anfitrión" and in Portuguese it is "anfitrião". Several other continental versions inspired by Plautus followed Molière, including a Christianized version by [[Johannes Burmeister]].
* The first English language work that was loosely based on Plautus was an interlude in ''Jacke Juggler'' (ca. 1550). [[John Marston (poet)|John Marston]]'s ''What You Will'' (1607) was also partly based on Plautus. The first large scale work where Plautus was the chief source was [[Thomas Heywood]]'s ''The Silver Age'' (1613). [[John Dryden]]'s 1690 ''[[Amphitryon (Dryden)|Amphitryon]]'' is based on [[Molière]]'s 1668 version as well as on Plautus. Notable innovations from Dryden's adaptation include music by [[Henry Purcell]] and the character of [[Phaedra (mythology)|Phaedra]], who flirts with Sosia but is eventually won over by Mercury's promises of wealth. A modern comic adaptation was made by George Maxim Ross in the 1950s under the title ''Too Much Amphitryon.''
* In Germany, [[Heinrich von Kleist]]'s ''Amphitryon'' (1807), which began as a translation of [[Molière]]'s [[Amphitryon (Molière play)|''Amphitryon'']] (1668) but developed into an original adaptation of the myth in its own right, remains the most frequently performed version of the myth, with Kleist using Alkmene's inability to distinguish between Jupiter and her husband to explore metaphysical issues; [[Giselher Klebe]] wrote in 1961 his opera ''[[Alkmene (opera)|Alkmene]]'' based on this play. Other German dramatic treatments include [[Georg Kaiser]]'s posthumously published ''Double Amphitryon'' (''Zweimal Amphitryon'', 1943) and [[Peter Hacks]]'s ''Amphitryon'' (1968).
* In France, [[Molière]]'s [[Amphitryon (Molière play)|''Amphitryon'']] (1668) is the most famous and seminal treatment of the myth. It was also the subject of a play by [[Jean Giraudoux]], ''[[Amphitryon 38]]'' (1929), the number in the title being Giraudoux's whimsical approximation of how many times the story had been told onstage previously. It was adapted into English by [[S. N. Behrman]] and enjoyed a successful run on Broadway in 1938. Plautus' version was the basis of [[Cole Porter]]'s 1950 musical ''[[Out of This World (Broadway)|Out of This World]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|website=Porter in Order|title=Out of This World|author=Michael H. Hutchins <!-- BOT GENERATED AUTHOR --> |url=http://www.geocities.com/Porterguide/out.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025014949/http://geocities.com/porterguide/out.html |archive-date=2009-10-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1991 it was the basis for the [[Jean-Luc Godard]] film ''[[Hélas pour moi]]''.
* The classic 1935 Nazi-era but anti-Nazi film version, ''[[Amphitryon (film)|Amphitryon]]'', was based on Kleist.
* The comic opera Amfitrion by the Croatia composer [[Boris Papandopulo]] (composed in 1937) which premiered in 1940.
* The musical ''[[Olympus on My Mind]]'' is based on Kleist's adaptation of the play.
* Irish author [[John Banville]]'s play ''God's Gift'' (Gallery Books, 2000) is a version of Kleist's ''Amphitryon''.
*The late Mexican writer [[Ignacio Padilla]]'s novel ''Amphitryon'' (2000), is a loose retelling of the ancient myth set in Nazi Germany and Europe, largely exploring the complex subjects of identity, time, and memory. The English translation is titled ''Shadow Without a Name'' (2003).

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==

*{{cite journal|last=Christenson|first=David|author-link=<!--Christenson's webpage http://www.classics.web.arizona.edu/node/100-->|date=Feb–Mar 2001|title=Grotesque Realism in Plautus' "Amphitruo"|journal=The Classical Journal|volume=96|issue=3|pages=243–260|jstor=3298322}}
*[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[http://w3.coh.arizona.edu/classics/faculty/Christenson/DCAmph.html Plautus' Amphitruo], DM Christenson - 2000 - Cambridge University Press. Book reviews: [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2002/2002-09-17.html] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060924074942/http://www.classics.und.ac.za/reviews/2002.htm]
*[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef | rows=2 | before=[[Electryon]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=King of [[Mycenae]]}}
{{s-aft | rows=2 | after=[[Sthenelus (son of Andromeda and Perseus)|Sthenelus]]}}
{{s-end}}

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[[Category:Perseids (mythology)]]
[[Category:Princes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Theban mythology]]
[[Category:Mythology of Heracles]]
[[Category:Mythology of Argolis]]
[[Category:French plays]]
[[Category:Plays by Sophocles]]
[[Category:German plays]]
[[Category:1690 plays]]
[[Category:Mythological Tirynthians]]