In
Greek mythology,
Antimache (
Ancient Greek: Ἀντιμάχη) was the queen of
Tiryns as wife of King
Eurystheus, who tasked
Heracles with his Labors.
Mythology
Antimache was of Arcadian descent as the daughter of
Amphidamas and the sister of
Hippomenes, husband of the heroine
Atalanta.
[Apollodorus, 3.9.2] Together with her husband Eurystheus, Antimache bore the following children:
Admete,
[Apollodorus, 2.5.9] Alexander,
Iphimedon,
Eurybius, Mentor,
Perimedes,
[Apollodorus, 2.8.1] and possibly,
Eurypylus.
[Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 4.158 (p. 219)] All of her sons were killed in battle by the
Athens in the war that ensued when Athens refused to deliver the
Heracleidae up to Eurystheus.
Alternatively, during a sacrificial meal in honor of his
Twelve Labors being completed,
Heracles himself slain Antimache's children: Eurybius, Perimedes and Eurypylus when they served him a smaller portion of meat than they did for themselves.
Antimache appears in the 2014 film Hercules, played by Barbara Palvin.
Notes
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Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
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Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
