Tithonus

Tithonus

Tithonus was a Trojan prince in Greek mythology, son of King Laomedon of Troy and the water nymph Strymo. Eos, the Titan goddess of dawn, kidnapped Tithonus along with Ganymede, in order to make them her lovers. She then asked Zeus to grant Tithonus immortality, but did not think of asking to grant him eternal youth too. As a result, Tithonus aged and did not die, resulting in his strength wilting away to the point that he could no longer move his arms. All he could do was babble continuously; in the end, he turned into a cicada, hoping that death would come for him as well.

Tithonus and Eos had two sons, Memnon and Emathion. Memnon participated in the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans, but was killed by Achilles. Eos asked Zeus to make her son immortal, which the god did. Emathion, on the other hand, became the king of Aethiopia, and was later killed by Heracles.

See Also: Laomedon, Eos, Ganymede, Zeus, Achilles, Heracles

Tithonus Q&A

Who was Tithonus?

Tithonus was a Trojan prince in Greek mythology, son of King Laomedon of Troy and the water nymph Strymo. Eos, the Titan goddess of dawn, kidnapped Tithonus along with Ganymede, in order to make them her lovers.

Who were the parents of Tithonus?

The parent of Tithonus was Laomedon.

Link/Cite Tithonus Page

You can freely use the content on this page for non-commercial reasons (homework, lessons, school essays or college projects, free online courses) as long as you cite this page as the source.

Written by: The Editors of GreekMythology.com. GreekMythology.com editors write, review and revise subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge based on their working experience or advanced studies.

For MLA style citation use: GreekMythology.com, The Editors of Website. "Tithonus". GreekMythology.com Website, 19 Jul. 2015, https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Tithonus/tithonus.html. Accessed 18 March 2024.