Ganymede

(Art by Eustache Le Sueur)

### Aliases

Γανυμήδης, Ganymedes, Cataminus, Aquarius, Prince of Troy, Cup-bearer of Zeus, Zeus' Lil' Boy-Toy, The Most Beautiful of Mortals

## Physical Description

### Spirit of

Youth, Beauty, Fertility, Sexuality, Desire, Homosexuality

## Relatives

### Consorts

Zeus

**Ganymede**, also known as **Ganymedes**, is a legendary prince from Greek mythology, whose beauty captivated the heart of Zeus and was taken to Mount Olympus to be his immortal cupbearer. He became a symbol for the beautiful young male who attracted homosexual desire and love.

## Appearance

Ganymede is depicted as a handsome and attractive adolescent male. In some arts, he is depicted as muscular, though less so in comparison with other males to demonstrated his youthful beauty. Many ancient poets had described him as the most beautiful man among mortals, with a beauty comparable with the deathless gods.

He has a beautiful androgynous appearance, with a face dominated by immense, lustrous green eyes and framed by golden ringlets, and with a bow mouth and full lips and brilliant white teeth. As a god of beauty and sexual desire, he can inspire lust in both males and females, though due to his domains, men, especially those who had sexual/romantic attraction toward other men, are more likely to be attracted.

He is also often depicted as being with Zeus in his form as a giant eagle.

## History

### Kidnapping and Apotheosis

Ganymede was born to king Tros of Dardania, from whose name "Troy" was supposedly derived, and his mother was Callirhoe, daughter of the river god Scamander. He was also the brother of Ilus, Assaracus, Cleopatra, and Cleomestra.

One day, while he was tending sheep on Mount Ida, near Troy in Phrygia, his image was caught in the eyes of Zeus, the king of the gods. Having been smitten by the young boy's divine beauty, the older god wanted to preserve it for his own for eternity and had decided to take him to Mount Olympus and let him live with him among the gods. He then transformed into a giant eagle before descended down to earth and swoop the younger male up in his claws before returning to his palace.

On Olympus, Zeus had him granted eternal youth and immortality and the position of Zeus' personal cupbearer. Occasionally, on events of festivity, he will be worked along side the goddess Hebe and serve the various divinities on Mount Olympus.

Later on, Zeus compensated Ganymede's father by the gift of fine horses, "the same that carry the immortals", delivered by the messenger god Hermes. Tros was consoled that his son was now immortal and would be the cupbearer for the gods, a position of much distinction.

### Game of Knucklebones

In the epic poem Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes, Ganymede was said to have been furious at the god Eros for having cheated him at a game of knucklebones, after which Aphrodite scolded her son for "cheating a beginner".

### Aquarius

The myth of Ganymede and Zeus had been considered by the Ancient Greeks to be one of the origins of the constellation Aquarius, alongside the myth of Eos and the myth of Deucalion, as it is adjacent to Aquila (the Eagle), which is the symbol animal of Zeus. In addition to that, some sources said that the Aquila symbolized the giant eagle that was sent down by Zeus to kidnap Ganymede instead of Zeus himself.

## Myths and Legends

His Roman counterpart is Cataminus, from whom the word *catamine* originated.

## Trivia

* Some myths said it was Eos who kidnapped Ganymede, motivated by her affection for young men; Zeus then stole him from Eos and employed him as cupbearer.
* Plato accounted for the pederastic aspect of his myth by attributing its origin to Crete, where the social custom of *paiderastía* was supposed to have originated.
	+ Athenaeus recorded a version of the myth where Ganymede was abducted by the legendary King Minos to serve as his cupbearer instead of Zeus.
* Some philosophers said Zeus was attracted by the beauty of Ganymede's mind and/or soul instead of his appearance.
* Ganymede is the only mortal lover of Zeus to be granted immortality.