HarpalyceANCIENT_Hyginus





Hyginus Fab., 1.314-24

Harpalycus, the Thracian king of the Amymnei, had a daughter named Harpalyce. When her mother died, he fed his daughter at the teats of cows and mares and trained the growing girl in combat weapons so that he might have afterwards a successor to his kingdom. The girl did not disappoint her father's hopes; for, she because so fine a warrioress that she saved her father's life. This happened when Neptolemus was returning from Troy. He attacked Harpalycus and inflicted a serious wound; she saved her father's life by attacking just before the mortal blow, and she routed the enemy. But later Harpalycus was killed in a civil uprising. Harpalyce took her father's death quite hard and withdrew into the wilderness. There she destroyed the stables of herds. Finally she died in an encounter with herdsmen.
     
     — translation RTMacfarlane


     Cf. also Hyg. Fab. 252 "Individuals Raised on Wild-Animal Milk", which lists Telephus, Aegisthus, Aeolus and Boeotus, Hippothous, Romulus and Remus, Antilochus, Harpalyce, and Camilla; and Fab. 254 "Children Most Devoted to their Parents (piissimae/piissimi), which includes Harpalyce after Antigone, Electra, IIione, Pelopia, Hyspipyle, Chalciope and before Erigone, Agave, Xanthippe, and Tyro.


     Hyginus, Fabulae 193 Harpalycus

rex Amymneorum Thrax cum haberet filiam Harpalycen, amissa matre eius uaccarum equarumque eam uberibus nutriuit et crescentem armis exercuit, habiturus successorem regni sui postmodum; nec spes paternas puella decepit, nam tantum bellatrix euasit ut etiam saluti fuerit parenti. (2) nam reuertens a Troia Neoptolemus cum expugnaret Harpalcum grauique eum uulnere affecisset, illa periturum patrem impetu facto conseruauit, fugauitque hostem. (3) sed postea Harpalcus per seditionem ciuium interfectus est. Harpalce grauiter ferens patris mortem contulit se in siluas, ibique uastando iumentorum stabula, tandem concursu pastorum interiit.
     

OGCMA slides are designed by Roger T. Macfarlane for use in Classical Civilization 241 courses at Brigham Young University.
The present resource contains information assembled for The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 1400 – 1990’s, edited by J. Davidson Reid (Oxford 1994), and it is used with express permission from Oxford University Press.
Address concerns or inquiries to macfarlane@byu.edu.