AETHRA


Meaning of AETHRA in English

in Greek mythology, daughter of King Pittheus of Troezen, who married her to Aegeus, king of Athens. She became mother of Theseus by Aegeus or by Poseidon, who had ravished her in Troezen. (The two versions may reflect the ancient confusion of Aegeus with the sea god-e.g., the Aegean Sea.) Later she guarded Helen after she had been stolen from Sparta by Theseus; in retribution Aethra was carried to Sparta by the Dioscuri to be Helen's slave, thereafter following her to Troy. Freed after the 10 years' war, Aethra later killed herself in grief for her son.

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