Myrmidons

From Free net encyclopedia

The Myrmidons (or Μυρμιδόνες, the name literally means "ant-people") were an ancient nation of Greek mythology. The story of their origins was first mentioned by the poet Ovid. Initially, the Myrmidons were simple worker ants on the island of Aegina.

1 Myth of the repopulation of Aegina
2 Modern Myrmidons
- 2.1 Myrmidons in literature
- 2.2 Myrmidons in games
3 References and external links

[edit]

Myth of the repopulation of Aegina

Hera, queen of the gods, sent a plague to kill all the human inhabitants of Aegina because the island was named for one of the lovers of Zeus. King Aeacus, a son of Zeus and the intended target of Hera along with his mother, prayed to his father for a means to repopulate the island. As the ants of the island were unaffected by the sickness, Zeus responded by transforming them into a race of people, the Myrmidons. They were fierce and hardy as ants, and intensely loyal to their leader.

After a time, Aeacus exiled his two sons, Peleus and Telamon, for murdering their half-brother, Phocis. Peleus went to Phthia and a group of Myrmidons followed him to Thessaly. Peleus's son, Achilles, brought them to Troy to fight in the Trojan War. They feature as the loyal followers of Achilles in most accounts of the Trojan War from Homer to the 2004 film Troy.

Another tradition states that the Myrmidons had no such remarkable beginnings, but were merely the descendants of Myrmidon, a Thessalian nobleman, who married Peisidice, the daughter of Aeolus, king of Thessaly. Myrmidon was the father of Actor and Antiphus. As king of Phthia, Actor (or his son) invited Peleus to stay in Thessaly.

[edit]

Modern Myrmidons

The Myrmidons of Greek myth were known for their blind and remorseless loyalty to their leaders, so that in pre-industrial Europe the word "myrmidon" carried many of the same connotations that "robot" does today. "Myrmidon" later came to mean "hired ruffian", according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The Royal Navy has had several ships called HMS Myrmidon.

"The Myrmidons" was the name adopted in 1865 by a private dining society in Merton College, Oxford. It is thought to be the oldest continuously active dining society in the University of Oxford. Max Beerbohm was a member, and the club called "The Junta" that features in his Oxford novel Zuleika Dobson is probably modelled on the Myrmidons. Other former members include Lord Randolph Churchill and Andrew Irvine.

[edit]

Myrmidons in literature

In The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett, the crew of Commodore Trunnion's garrison were referred to as "Myrmidons" due to their fierce loyalty

In Grant Morrison's comic book The Invisibles, the humans who serve the Archons and who have given themselves up for modification are known as Myrmidons.

In "Chonchu", a manwha (A Korean style of comics similar to the Japanese manga), the Mirmidons (with a little difference in the name's spelling) are a dreadful warrior tribe known for their strength and spirit. They are fierce fighters who live only for the delight of battling.

In Garth Nix's young adult novel, "Shade's Children", alien Overlords reconstruct human children into mindless soldiers called Myrmidons.

In The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance, a planet's population is artificially divided into three castes by imposing linguistic and cultural barriers; the members of the warrior caste refer to themselves as "Myrmidons."

In "The Illiad" by Homer, the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles. Similar reference is made to them in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida.

[edit]

Myrmidons in games

In Blizzard Entertainment's WarCraft real-time strategy computer game series, the Myrmidon are a powerful amphibious unit of the Naga race, which appears for the first time in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. In their MMORPG World of Warcraft, other factions such as the Scarlet Crusade also have a Myrmidon unit type.

Myrmidons are also a unit of strong undead warriors in the Myth: the Fallen Lords RTS game.

The Myrmidon is a Terran space fighter craft in the space simulation Freespace 2 by Volition.

In the strategy video game series Fire Emblem, "Myrmidon" is a unit class. Myrmidons are swift and skillful swordfighters with low attack power but a high chance of delivering critical hits. Traditionally, playable Myrmidons are enemy fighters who must be persuaded to join the party. They are referred to as "swords for hire" in the game. They normally 'promote' into powerful Swordmasters, arguably the best units in the game. In "Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones," they can also 'promote' into Assassins.

In the simulation game MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, and in the wargame Battletech, the Myrmidon is a small, fast attack tank that mounts a powerful Particle Projection Cannon.

In the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, the Myrmidons are a race of ant-like humanoids, or rather human-like ants. While larger and more intelligent than their real-world counterparts, they retain their hive-mind psychology and rigid social structure.

In the original (1974) edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Myrmidon is the level title associated with 6th level Fighters. The later (1981 and 1983) Basic D&D editions also feature these same titles.

Myrmidon is a death-thrash metal band in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.

Myrmidon is a rank title in the MMORPG developed by Mythic Entertainment, Dark Age of Camelot.

In the Champions of Norrath game for the PlayStation 2, the pieces of armor called "Myrmidon" are the best in the game. The armor can only be worn after reaching level 50, which is the highest level a character can reach.

In the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the myrmidon is a rank that you can achieve in the arena in the Imperial City.

In the real-time strategy game Age of Mythology by Ensemble Studios and Microsoft, Myrmidons are Zeus' heavy infantry with sword and shield, and are good against non-Greek units.

In the Role Playing Game Breath of Fire 3, The Main character Ryu has a special dragon transformation called Myrmidon. It's a warrior dragon type with the powerful "Aura" attack capable of dealing 1000+ points of damage.

[edit]