HYPERMNESTRA (daughter of Danaus)
Figure of myth · daughter of Danaus in Greek mythology
She was led to the palace of Pelasgus on the night of the murders, and her father commanded her to kill her husband.4,1 Driven by fear and piety, she refused to kill Lynceus, unlike her sisters who murdered theirs.1,4 Instead, she saved her brother Lynceus from death.2
Her father punished her for sparing her husband's life, imprisoning her and bringing her to trial.4,5,6 She was unjustly condemned to die for her pious act of saving him.2 The Argives acquitted Hypermnestra at the Place of Judgment, vindicating her pious act.6,7,8
Danaus later united her with Lynceus, and they became the parents of Abas.5,9 Later, she agreed with Lynceus to use beacons as a signal for his escape from their pursuers.10 She lit a beacon on Larisa to signal her own safety.10 She gave her husband a sleepy draught to render him unconscious.1
She then attempted to kill him with a sword but failed three times.1 Today, she is buried together with Lynceus near the altar of Zeus Phyxius, where the Argives hold an annual beacon festival in her honor.11,6,7 In her requested tomb inscription, she described herself as an unhappy exile, asking for sincere tears upon her ashes.2 She requested that Lynceus carry her body to the funeral pile.2
The codex facts behind this entry
Hypermnestra was the eldest daughter of Danaus. Apollodorus 2.1.5 +1
In the myths
Danaus imprisoned Hypermnestra and brought her to trial for refusing to join her sisters in murder. Apollodorus 2.1.5 +3 The Argives acquitted Hypermnestra and hold an annual beacon festival. Pausanias 2.19.6 +2
