GANYMEDE

In Greek myth, Ganymede was the son of Tros, king of Troy. His extraordinary beauty came to the attention of Zeus, king of the gods.

He carried the boy off to Mount Olympus to serve as cupbearer to the gods. The deities were so struck by his beauty that they did not want it to fade with age or perish in warfare, but to endure forever for their delight, so they made him immortal.

There are several different legends of the actual abduction of Ganymede. In one version,

Ganymede was borne aloft by a whirlwind and then taken to Mount Olympus by the eagle of Zeus. In another account, Zeus first spotted Ganymede herding a flock of sheep on Mount Ida. The god was smitten by his good looks and offered the boy a rooster, a traditional love gift. In this version, the story of Ganymede acquired a homoerotic element: Zeus brought the Trojan prince to Olympus as his young lover. The Romans were particularly interested in the erotic element of the myth; the Latin equivalent of Ganymede was Catamitus. According to other accounts, Ganymede was kidnapped by Eos, goddess of dawn, who wanted to add him to her long list of mortal lovers. Zeus then snatched him from her. One detail, however, is the same in all versions of the myth: when Ganymede was installed on Olympus, he became the cupbearer of the gods, responsible for serving them nectar.

When Tros learned of his son’s disappearance, he was devastated. His grief touched Zeus and moved the god to offer recompense. Zeus presented Tros with a golden vine and two swift horses that could run over water. Zeus also reassured him by telling him that Ganymede would become immortal. Later, Tros offered the horses to the famous hero Heracles in payment for destroying the sea monster sent by Poseidon to besiege the city of Troy. Heracles kept his part of the bargain, but Tros reneged on his, thus earning the everlasting hatred of heroes and gods alike.