MyrmidonsFor other uses, see Myrmidon (disambiguation).TheMyrmidons orMyrmidones (Greek: -) were a legendary people of Greek history. Theywere very brave warriors: trained and commandedbyAchilles,[1]asdescribedinHomers Iliad. Theireponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Thes-salian Phthia, who was the son of Zeus and wide-rulingEurymedousa, a princess of Phthia.Anetiological mythoftheirorigins, expandingupontheir etymology the name in Classical Greek was in-terpreted as "ant-people, from (murmedon)ants nest[2] and that from (murmex) ant[3] was rst mentioned by Ovid, in Metamorphoses: inOvids telling, King Aeacus of Aegina, Achilles grand-father, pleaded with Zeus to populate his country after aterrible plague. Zeus said his people would number asthe ants on his sacred oak, and from the ants sprang thepeople of Aegina, the Myrmidons.1 Later use of the termThe Myrmidons of Greek myth were known for their skillin battle and loyalty to their leaders. In pre-industrialEurope the word myrmidon carried many of the sameconnotations that "minion" does today. Myrmidon latercame to mean hired ruan (according to the OxfordEnglishDictionary) or a loyal follower, especially onewho executes orders without question, protest, or pity -unquestioning followers. (Dictionary.com).Myrmidons is also the title of the rst of a trilogy of playsby Aeschylus, collectively known as the Achilles. Theother plays in the trilogy are Nereids and Phrygians (seeAchilleis for more).2 See alsoTroilus andCressida, aWilliamShakespeareplayinwhich the Myrmidons appear3 References[1] Achilles himself is the great Myrmidon/Who broils inloud applause in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.[2] Murmedon, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, AGreek-English Lexicon, at Perseus[3] Murmex, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, at Perseus4 External linksMyrmidons at WSUQuote by character Dutton Peabody from the lmThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance12 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses5.1 Text Myrmidons Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmidons?oldid=646675124Contributors: Tucci528, Stevertigo, Mrwojo, StanShebs, Renato Caniatti~enwiki, Wetman, Kizor, Danceswithzerglings, Xanzzibar, Samusfan80, Varlaam, BruceR, El-Ahrairah, Neutrality,Zro, Kjoonlee, Czrisher, Thunderbrand, Kunzite, Pearle, LegolasGreenleaf, Plumbago, DreamGuy, Tony Sidaway, WindWaker68, Ghirlan-dajo, Axeman89, CCooke, MONGO, Thruston, Junjk, Graham87, Rjwilmsi, Brighterorange, Yamamoto Ichiro, Franzeska, Miskin, Ni-hiltres, Rune.welsh, Gurch, Bjmurph, Soul assassin~enwiki, YurikBot, RobotE, Alma Pater, Rtkat3, Erachima, RussBot, Kvn8907, Asare-lah, .marc., JuJube, 2fort5r, Curpsbot-unicodify, GregorS, Luk, SmackBot, Jokl, Tom Lougheed, Brokenscope, Elendils Heir, Artemisboy,Scammington, Aotake, Meni Rosenfeld, Macphisto12, Mr Stephen, Johnmcvan, Godlesswanderer, Scarlet Lioness, HDCase, Inkwell al-chemist, Olho~enwiki, WeggeBot, Equendil, Casliber, Thijs!bot, Skullmagic2, Lunamaria, Mentisto, Asluthier, Scuttlest, WANAX, .ana-condabot, Bibi Saint-Pol, Jacce, T@nn, Phlip2005, Simon Peter Hughes, Amplexity01, Treebaron, Kostisl, Creol, Raptir~enwiki, Soares-brenp, Mjhorrell, Quarma, Blood Oath Bot, Idioma-bot, Deor, Macedonian, ICE77, Je G., Neero, TXiKiBoT, Khutuck, Technopat,Iorek The Lost, Ryanwh, Joseph A. Spadaro, Lastrunk, Janggeom, Nipsonanomhmata, 45ossington, DinkoYaksic, Cyucheng, Catalogra-pher, Rror, Addbot, Ivopld, Some jerk on the Internet, EjsBot, Ptbotgourou, Fraggle81, Mintrick, Erud, Bugo30, GrouchoBot, RibotBOT,Phlyaristis, Boomptyboomp, RedBot, MondalorBot, Younghappy1, Bananabelle11, Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars, GoingBatty, Trey73,K6ka, NemanjaPuhalo, ClueBot NG, Stenvenhe, AngBent, MusikAnimal, Davidiad, GrainyMagazine, Webclient101, Ubinim, Pietro13,Entrancepi, Gipson10 and Anonymous: 1715.2 Images5.3 Content license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0