Dangerous Beauty: The Abduction of Ganymede, Vat. Myth. 2.184

The Abduction of Ganymede

Name:  Vatican Mythographers Date:   10th century CE Region:   Unknown Citation:   Vat. Myth.  2.184

Abduction myths serve two purposes. For modern readers, they serve as a cautionary tale that all young persons are vulnerable to exploitation. For ancient readers, however, these beautiful youths’ abductions were euphemistic stories to help grieving parents cope with the loss of a child who died before reaching expected social milestones (e.g., entering adulthood or getting married).

Ganymede, the son of Priam's son Troilius, was the most beautiful youth and the most talented hunter among the Trojans. When he was training on Mount Ida, he was snatched up by Jupiter's thunderbird, [the eagle that once bore the god's thunderbolt].   The youth was taken up into heaven and assigned to be the Cupbearer of the Gods, a position that had previously been filled by Hebe, the daughter of Jupiter's son Minos.  

The Abduction of Ganymede

Ganymedes filius Troili filii Priami cum prima forma ceteris Troianis preferretur et assiduis venationibus in Idae silva exerceretur, ab armigero Jovis, scilicet aquila quae quondam illi fulmina offerebat, in caelum raptus est et factus est pincerna deorum, quod officium prius occupaverat Hebe filia Minois filii Jovis.

Vatican Mythographers [10th century CE?] Little is known about the author or origin of the collection of myths known as the Vatican Mythographers, but the work’s first editor Angelo Mai found the collection on a manuscript dating back to the 10th century CE. This volume is a collection of three different mythographers who have assembled various Greco-Roman myths; although many of these myths are basic summaries in Latin, some of them are either analyzed as allegories or compared to Christian thought.