Danaïdes
mythical characters
In Greek mythology, the Danaïdes (; Ancient Greek: Δαναΐδες, romanized: Danaídes, lit. 'daughters of Danaus', pronounced [da.na.í.deː]) also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Libya. In the most common version of the myth, the daughters were forced to marry the sons of Danaus' brother Aegyptus. In retaliation, Danaus commanded them to kill their husbands on their wedding night, and all but one, Hypermnestra, obeyed. The Danaids were then condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated jug.
The myth of the Danaids is found in numerous written accounts from antiquity, such as in the writings of Apollodorus, Pindar, and Pausanias. The names of the Danaids are inscribed in lists from Apollodorus and Hyginus, though they differ greatly.
Sources from Antiquity
The most complete version of the Danaid myth is found in Apollodorus's Bibliotheca. The story was also documented by several other authors in ancient Greece and Rome, such as in Pindar's Pythian Odes, Pausanias' Description of Greece, and Hyginus's Fabulae. Aeschylus also devoted a dramatic trilogy to the subject, containing The Suppliants, The Egyptians, and The Danaids, or perhaps a tetralogy including Amymone. The Danaids are also the subject of an epic poem which has been lost, called the Danais.
The public source identifies “Danaïdes” as mythical characters. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Danaïdes, mythical and characters.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q724907. VIAF identifies the subject as 1220864. The Library of Congress control number is sh2002009350. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Danaïdes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.