ENDEIS
Greek Name
Ενδηις
Transliteration
Endêis
Latin Spelling
Endeis
Translation
Native, At Home (endemos)
ENDEIS was the Thessalian nymph, or princess, wife of King Aiakos (Aeacus) of Aigina (Aegina). Jealous of her stepson Phokos (Phocus), she induced her sons Peleus and Telamon to murder the boy.
Endeis was a daughter of either the wise kentauros Kheiron (centaur Chiron)--foster-father of her grandson Akhilleus (Achilles)--or of Skeiron (Sciron), king of the island of Skyros. In the latter version, Endeis' brother Lykomedes (Lycomedes), rather than Kheiron, was the foster-father of the young Akhilleus.
PARENTS
[1.1] SKEIRON (Apollodorus 158, Pausanias 2.29.9)
[1.2] SKEIRON & KHARIKLO (Plutarch Theseus 10.3)
[1.3] KHEIRON (Hyginus Fabulae 14)
OFFSPRING
[1.1] PELEUS, TELAMON (by Aiakos) (Apollodorus 158, Pausanias 2.29.9, Plutarch Theseus 10.3, Hyginus Fabulae 14)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
ENDE′IS (Endêis), a daughter of Chiron, who was married to Aeacus, by whom she became the mother of Peleus and Telamon. (Apollod. iii. 12. § 6,) Pausanias (ii. 29. § 7) calls her a daughter of Sciron.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 158 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Aiakos (Aeacus) married Endeis, daughter of Skeiron (Sciron), and had sons named Peleus and Telamon."
[N.B. The conversion of Kheiron into Skeiron, king of Skyros, may be a late rationalisation of the myth--Homer, for example, describes Kheiron as the foster-father of Endeis' grandson Akhilleus but knows nothing of Skeiron or Lykomedes.]
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 29. 9 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[On the island of Aigina (Aegina) :] Beside the shrine of Aiakos (Aeacus) is the grave of Phokos (Phocus) . . . When Telamon and Peleus [sons of Aiakos] had induced Phokos to compete at the pentathlon, and it was now the turn of Peleus to hurl the stone, which they were using for a quoit, he intentionally hit Phokos. The act was done to please their mother; for, while they were both born of the daughter of Skeiron (Sciron) [i.e. Endeis], Phokos was not, being, if indeed the report of the Greeks be true, the son of a sister of Thetis [i.e. Psamathe] . . . When this blow of the quoit killed Phokos, the sons of Endeis boarded a ship and fled."
Plutarch, Life of Theseus 10. 3 (trans. Perrin) (Greek historian C1st to C2nd A.D.) :
"Aiakos (Aeacus), and grandfather of Peleus and Telamon, who were the sons of Endeis, daughter of Skeiron (Sciron) and Khariklo (Chariclo)." [N.B. Khariklo is the wife of Kheiron, so clearly King Skeiron has been substituted for the centaur in a rationalisation of the myth.]
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 14 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
"Peleus and Telamon, sons of Aeacus and Endeis, daughter of Chiron, from the island of Aegina."
SOURCES
GREEK
- Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.
- Plutarch, Lives - Greek Historian C1st - 2nd A.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.