Rhadamanthus- Greek DemigodDemigod"Judge of the Dead"

The Lawgiver of Crete

Rhadamanthus was born on Crete to Zeus and the Phoenician princess Europa. Zeus had crossed the sea disguised as a white bull, carrying Europa on his back from the shores of Sidon to Crete. Her sons by Zeus — Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Sarpedon — were raised by the Cretan king Asterion, whom Europa married. Of the three brothers, Rhadamanthus became known for his justice from youth. Ancient sources credit him with establishing laws that the Cretans followed for generations, and Plato and Diodorus report that the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus studied his code during his travels.

Exile and Alcmene

After Asterion's death, the three brothers competed for the Cretan throne. Minos won and drove out both rivals. Sarpedon settled in Lycia, and Rhadamanthus found refuge in Boeotia. There he married Alcmene, the mother of Heracles, after the death of her mortal husband Amphitryon. Some traditions place this marriage during his mortal life; others locate it in the afterlife, with both dwelling together in the Elysian Fields.

Judge of the Dead

After death, Zeus appointed Rhadamanthus as one of the three judges of the underworld. In Plato's Gorgias, Zeus reformed the judgment because the old system had failed: when the living judged the living, men with fine bodies and rich clothing won favorable verdicts regardless of their souls. Zeus decreed that the dead would be judged naked by dead judges, so nothing would obscure the soul's true character. He chose three men who had been just in life: Rhadamanthus for the souls arriving from Asia, Aeacus for those from Europe, and Minos to decide when the other two disagreed. Homer places Rhadamanthus in the Elysian Fields, the plain at the edge of the earth where the west wind always blows and life runs easy for men.