Oenomaus

Oenomaus was the king of Pisa, the land around Olympia, in Greek mythology. He killed the suitors of his daughter Hippodamia in chariot races until Pelops defeated him, helped by Poseidon’s horses and by the treachery of the charioteer Myrtilus. His death and Myrtilus’ curse became the origin of the sufferings of the house of Pelops.

Family

Oenomaus was a son of Ares. His mother is given differently: Hyginus calls her Asterope, a daughter of Atlas, while Pausanias reports that the Eleans and the Phliasians said she was Harpina, a daughter of the river Asopus, and that Oenomaus named the city of Harpina after her (Hyginus, Fabulae 84; Pausanias 5.22.6, 6.21.8). His wife is called Euarete, a daughter of Acrisius, by Hyginus; Pausanias describes the pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, which showed Oenomaus next to Sterope, his wife, one of the daughters of Atlas (Hyginus, Fabulae 84; Pausanias 5.10.6).

His daughter was Hippodamia (Apollodorus, Epitome 2.4). Pausanias gives him a son, Leucippus, who fell in love with Daphne (Pausanias 8.20.2). Through Hippodamia he was the grandfather of Atreus and Thyestes (Hyginus, Fabulae 84), and so the great-grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus, the sons of Atreus.

The Chariot Race

Oenomaus would not let Hippodamia marry. Apollodorus says that this was either because he was in love with her, as some say, or because an oracle had warned him that he would die at the hands of the man who married her. Hyginus gives only the oracle (Apollodorus, Epitome 2.4; Hyginus, Fabulae 84). To rid himself of the suitors, he offered her to anyone who could beat him in a chariot race. In Apollodorus each suitor had to carry Hippodamia off on his own chariot and flee as far as the Isthmus of Corinth, while Oenomaus, in full armour and with weapons and horses given to him by Ares, pursued; if he overtook the suitor he killed him, and if not, the suitor won the girl (Epitome 2.5). Hyginus says that his horses were faster than the north wind, and Lycophron names the mares Psylla and Harpinna (Hyginus, Fabulae 84; Lycophron, Alexandra 166–167). Pausanias adds that Oenomaus used to sacrifice to Warlike Zeus on an altar at Olympia before beginning a race (Pausanias 5.14.6).

The number of the dead suitors varies. Pindar says that he killed thirteen men; Apollodorus says “some say twelve” (Pindar, Olympian 1.79; Apollodorus, Epitome 2.5). Oenomaus cut off their heads and nailed them to his house (Apollodorus, Epitome 2.5). Pausanias was shown the grave of the mares of Marmax, the first suitor to arrive, and a high mound which was the common grave of the suitors; Pelops later raised a monument over them (Pausanias 6.21.7, 6.21.9).

Pelops and Hippodamia

Pelops, the son of Tantalus, came after the earlier suitors. In Pindar he went down to the sea alone in the dark and prayed to Poseidon to hold back the bronze spear of Oenomaus and to give him the swiftest of chariots. Poseidon gave him a golden chariot and tireless winged horses, and Pelops overcame Oenomaus and won the girl (Pindar, Olympian 1.71–88). Apollodorus says that Pelops was loved by Poseidon, who gave him a winged chariot, and adds that Hippodamia fell in love with Pelops when she saw him and persuaded Myrtilus, the charioteer of Oenomaus and a son of Hermes, to help him (Epitome 2.3, 2.6).

The Death of Oenomaus

In Apollodorus, Myrtilus loved Hippodamia and did not insert the linchpins into the wheels. Oenomaus was entangled in the reins and dragged to death by his horses; according to some he was killed by Pelops (Epitome 2.7). Hyginus makes Pelops himself the one who persuaded Myrtilus, with the promise of half of the kingdom, and says that Oenomaus’ chariot broke apart in the same way (Fabulae 84). In Apollonius of Rhodes the race is one of the scenes woven on the cloak of Jason: Pelops drives with Hippodamia beside him, Myrtilus drives after them, and Oenomaus, his spear levelled to pierce Pelops in the back, falls as the axle breaks in the hub (Argonautica 1.752–758). The scene was shown on the chest of Cypselus and on the east pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, where Pausanias saw Oenomaus with a helmet, Sterope, and Myrtilus sitting in front of the four horses (Pausanias 5.17.7, 5.10.6). His grave, a mound of earth with a stone wall around it, lay beside the river Cladeus (Pausanias 6.21.3). Pelops took over the land of Pisa and Olympia after his death (Pausanias 5.1.7).

Myrtilus and His Curse

As he died, Oenomaus cursed Myrtilus, and in Apollodorus Myrtilus did perish at the hands of Pelops. On the journey home he tried to rape Hippodamia, and Pelops threw him into the sea near Cape Geraestus; the Myrtoan Sea is named after him, and as he fell he cursed the house of Pelops (Apollodorus, Epitome 2.7–8). In Pausanias, Pelops had promised Myrtilus a night with Hippodamia and threw him from the ship when he claimed it; the people of Pheneus buried the body washed ashore and sacrificed to him as a hero (Pausanias 8.14.10–11). Hyginus has Pelops throw him into the sea because he did not want to keep his promise (Fabulae 84). The curse became the explanation for the misfortunes of Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon and the later Pelopidae: Sophocles and Euripides both refer to the fall of Myrtilus into the sea as the origin of the troubles of the house (Sophocles, Electra 504–515; Euripides, Orestes 988–996).

Pindar says that the tomb of Pelops stands beside the altar at Olympia that welcomes many strangers, and that his fame shines from afar in the Olympic races; Pausanias records that Pelops held the games for Zeus more splendidly than anyone before him (Pindar, Olympian 1.90–96; Pausanias 5.8.2).

Oenomaus Sources

Ancient sources: Pindar, Olympian 1.67–96; Apollodorus, Epitome 2.3–8; Hyginus, Fabulae 84; Lycophron, Alexandra 166–167; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.752–758; Sophocles, Electra 504–515; Euripides, Orestes 988–996; Pausanias 5.1.7, 5.8.2, 5.10.6, 5.14.6, 5.17.7, 5.22.6, 6.21.3, 6.21.7–9, 8.14.10–11, 8.20.2.

See Also: Ares, Hippodamia, Leucippus, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Pelops, Tantalus, Poseidon, Myrtilus, Atreus, Thyestes, Aegisthus, Orestes