*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ganymede (mythology)


In Greek mythology, Ganymede (/ˈɡænɪˌmd/;/ˈɡænɪˌmid/;Greek: Γανυμήδης, Ganymēdēs) is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. He was the son of Tros of Dardania, from whose name "Troy" was supposedly derived, and of Callirrhoe, the daughter of the river god Scamander. His brothers were Ilus and Assaracus. In one version of the myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals:

[Ganymedes] was the loveliest born of the race of mortals, and therefore
the gods caught him away to themselves, to be Zeus' wine-pourer,
for the sake of his beauty, so he might be among the immortals.

The myth was a model for the Greek social custom of paiderastía, the socially acceptable erotic relationship between an adult male and an adolescent male. The Latin form of the name was Catamitus (and also "Ganymedes"), from which the English word "catamite" is derived.


...
Wikipedia

...