Pirithoüs
Publié le 22/02/2012
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Greek Son of Zeus and Dia, the
wife of Ixion; king of the Lapiths, a mythical people
inhabiting the mountains of Thessaly; friend of the
hero Theseus. Pirithoüs married Hippodameia. At
the wedding feast, to which the Centaurs had been
invited, a great fight broke out between the Lapiths
and the Centaurs, wild creatures that were half man
and half horse. The Lapiths and Theseus, who was
among the guests, defeated the centaurs and drove
them from their home on Mount Pelion.
Theseus accompanied Pirithoüs to the Underworld
(1), where the two attempted to steal away
Persephone, the reluctant bride of Hades, god of
the underworld. Hades trapped both Theseus and
Pirithoüs in deep chairs from which they could not
arise. Heracles rescued Theseus, but Pirithoüs was
trapped in his chair for all eternity.