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In Greek mythology, Pirithous (also transliterated as Perithoos or Peirithoos) was the King of the Lapiths and husband of Hippodamia. His best friend was Theseus.Pirithous had heard rumors about Theseus' courage and strength in battle but he wanted proof. He drove Theseus' herd of cattle from Marathon and Theseus set out to pursue him. Pirithous took up arms and the pair met, then became so impressed by each other they took oaths of friendship. He was either a son of Dia and Ixion or of Dia and Zeus.
They helped hunt the Calydonian Boar. Later, Pirithous was set to marry Hippodamia (offspring: Polypoetes). The centaurs were guests at the party, but they got drunk and tried to abduct the women, including Hippodamia. The Lapiths won the ensuing battle.
Theseus and Pirithous pledged to marry daughters of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen and together they kidnapped her when she was 13 years of age and decided to hold onto her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose Persephone. They left Helen with Theseus' mother, Aethra and travelled to the underworld, domain of Persephone and her husband, HadesHades ( Greek: ‘ Haides or ‘δης Hades ("unseen") means both the ancient Greek abode of the dead and the god of that Underworld. Haidou was the genitive form of the word, meaning "the house of Hades"; its nominative form, Haides was origin. Hades pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast; as soon as the pair sat down, either snakes coiled around their feet and held them there or the stone itself grew and attached itself to their thighs.
HeraclesFor the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon). In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera") was the demigod son of Zeus and Alcmene, the grand-daughter of Perseus and the wife of Amphitryon. In Roman mythology he was called Herc freed Theseus but the earth shook when he attempted to liberate Pirithous. When Theseus returned to Athens, the Dioscuri, Helen's twin brothers Castor and Pollux had taken Helen and Aethra back to SpartaThis page is about the ancient and modern Greek city of Sparta. For other uses see: Sparta (disambiguation Sparta was an ancient city in Greece, the capital of Laconia and the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. The city lay at the northern end of th. Pirithous remained in Hades for eternity.
HomerFor other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). Homer ( Greek Ὅμηρος Hómēros was a legendary (or perhaps mythical) early Greek poet traditionally credited with authorship of the major Greek epics Iliad a, Odyssey XXI, 295-305, XI, 631; Apollodorus, Bibliotheke; Ovid, Metamorphoses, XII.
