Source Verification: Hecuba
Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.
What the Sources Attest
What was Hecuba known for?
Hecuba is best known as the grieving queen of Troy. She was Priam's wife and the mother of Hector, Paris, Cassandra and Polyxena. In Homer's Iliad she begs Hector not to fight Achilles and leads the women's laments after his death. Euripides built two tragedies around her as a captive after the sack, the Hecuba and the Trojan Women. Her strangest fame comes from her end, since Euripides and Ovid both have her turned into a dog.
Source: Homer, Iliad 24.747-760
Why did Hecuba turn into a dog?
No ancient source states a single reason, and the versions differ. In Euripides's Hecuba, the change comes right after her revenge on Polymestor, who murdered her son Polydorus. The blinded king prophesies that she will become a dog with bloodshot eyes and that her tomb will be called the hound's grave. He says Dionysus, the Thracian prophet, told him. In Ovid's Metamorphoses the change happens in the fight itself. The Thracians stone her for blinding their king, and she snaps at the stones and barks when she tries to speak.
Source: Euripides, Hecuba 1259-1273
What did Odysseus do with Hecuba?
He took her as his slave. In Euripides's Trojan Women, the Greek herald tells Hecuba she has been allotted to Odysseus, and she mourns falling to a treacherous foe with a double tongue. Apollodorus's Epitome agrees that Odysseus got Hecuba as his share of the captives. In Ovid, Ulysses drags her from her sons' tombs to his ship. In Euripides's Hecuba, Odysseus also leads away her daughter Polyxena to be sacrificed, even though Hecuba once spared his life when he spied on Troy.
Source: Euripides, Trojan Women 277-292
What happened to Hecuba after the fall of Troy?
She lost almost everyone left to her. Apollodorus's Epitome says the Greeks slaughtered her daughter Polyxena on Achilles's grave and gave Hecuba herself to Odysseus. In Euripides's Hecuba, she also finds her youngest son Polydorus murdered by the Thracian king Polymestor for his gold. She blinds Polymestor and kills his two sons. Euripides and Ovid then have her turned into a dog. Apollodorus records another version in which Helenus takes her to the Chersonese and buries her there.
Source: Apollodorus, Epitome 5.23
Who were Priam and Hecuba in Greek mythology?
They were the king and queen of Troy during the Trojan War. Apollodorus says Hecuba was Priam's second wife, after he gave his first wife Arisbe to another man. Their first son was Hector. Their second was Paris, exposed on Mount Ida after Hecuba dreamed she bore a firebrand that burned the city. Apollodorus names their daughters as Creusa, Laodice, Polyxena and Cassandra. In the Iliad, Priam asks Hecuba's advice before he goes to ransom Hector, and she begs him not to go.
Source: Apollodorus, Library 3.12.5
Who was Hecuba's father?
The ancient sources disagree. Homer's Iliad makes her the daughter of Dymas, since her brother Asius is called a son of Dymas who lived in Phrygia by the Sangarius river. Euripides's Hecuba calls her the daughter of Cisseus instead. Apollodorus's Library does not choose. It says her father was Dymas, or as some say Cisseus, or as others say the river Sangarius, with Metope as her mother.
Source: Homer, Iliad 16.718
Where Accounts Differ
- who was Hecuba's father
- who took Hecuba captive
- where and how Hecuba died
- how Paris's birth is told
- whether Hecuba saw Polyxena taken
- Hecuba's father is named three ways. The Iliad (16.718) makes her brother Asius a son of Dymas. Euripides (Hecuba 1-30) calls her the daughter of Cisseus. Apollodorus (Library 3.12.5) gives Dymas, Cisseus, or the river Sangarius and Metope.
- Her captor differs. Euripides (Trojan Women 277-292), Apollodorus (Epitome 5.24) and Ovid (Metamorphoses 13.399-428) give her to Odysseus. Apollodorus (Epitome 5.24) also reports that some said Helenus got her and took her to the Chersonese.
- Where and how she died differs. Euripides (Hecuba 1259-1273) has Polymestor foretell that she will become a dog, fall from a ship's masthead, and lie in the hound's grave, a landmark for sailors. In the Trojan Women (424-430), Cassandra says Apollo's words declare she will die at Troy. Ovid (Metamorphoses 13.533-575) has her change into a dog in Thrace after the Thracians stone her. Apollodorus (Epitome 5.24) has her become a bitch in the Chersonese and Helenus bury her at the Bitch's Tomb.
- Paris's birth is told as an omen in Apollodorus (Library 3.12.5): Hecuba dreams of a firebrand, Aesacus reads it as ruin for Troy, and the baby is exposed. In Euripides (Trojan Women 915-925), Helen turns the story into an accusation, blaming Hecuba for bearing Paris and Priam for not killing him.
- Whether Hecuba saw Polyxena taken differs within Euripides. In the Hecuba (218-250) Odysseus takes the girl from her mother in person, while the prologue of the Trojan Women (36-44) says Polyxena died at Achilles's tomb without Hecuba's knowledge. Ovid (Metamorphoses 13.439-480) has Achilles's ghost demand the sacrifice.
Sources
- Homer, Iliad 6.251-311
- Homer, Iliad 16.718
- Homer, Iliad 22.79-89
- Homer, Iliad 22.430-436
- Homer, Iliad 24.193-227
- Homer, Iliad 24.283-301
- Homer, Iliad 24.747-760
- Apollodorus, Library 3.12.5
- Apollodorus, Epitome 5.23
- Apollodorus, Epitome 5.24
- Euripides, Hecuba 1-30
- Euripides, Hecuba 218-250
- Euripides, Hecuba 518-582
- Euripides, Hecuba 681-720
- Euripides, Hecuba 1000-1022
- Euripides, Hecuba 1035-1055
- Euripides, Hecuba 1259-1273
- Euripides, Trojan Women 36-44
- Euripides, Trojan Women 277-292
- Euripides, Trojan Women 424-430
- Euripides, Trojan Women 915-925
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.399-428
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.439-480
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.533-575