Laodamia- Greek FigureMortal"Wife of Protesilaus"
Also known as: Laodameia and Λαοδάμεια
Titles & Epithets
Symbols
Description
Protesilaus leapt ashore at Troy as the first Greek to touch Trojan soil, and Hector killed him on the beach. Laodamia fashioned a wax image of her husband and kept it in her bed. When her father ordered it burned, she threw herself onto the pyre.
Mythology & Lore
Protesilaus
Laodamia was the daughter of Acastus, king of Iolcus. She married Protesilaus, a prince of Phylace in Thessaly, but the marriage lasted only days. Protesilaus was bound by the oath of Helen's suitors to join the expedition against Troy. An oracle had foretold that the first Greek to set foot on Trojan soil would die. Protesilaus leapt ashore regardless. Hector killed him on the beach.
The Wax Image
Hyginus records that Laodamia fashioned a wax image of her husband and kept it in her bedchamber. She held it and spoke to it as though Protesilaus were alive. A servant saw her through the doorway and told Acastus his daughter was lying with a man. When the king looked, he found only the figure.
Apollodorus adds that the gods took pity on Protesilaus and let him return from the dead for a single day. Hermes escorted the shade to the upper world. The couple had their brief reunion, and then Protesilaus was called back.
The Pyre
Protesilaus went back to the dead, and Laodamia was left with the wax figure. In Hyginus, Acastus ordered it destroyed and had it thrown on a fire. Laodamia threw herself after it.