Aegina

Overview

Aegina is a nymph and daughter of the river god Asopus. Zeus carries her to the island later called Aegina, where she becomes the mother of Aeacus.

Generation

Heroic Age

Symbols

Aegina, island, river lineage

Notes

Aegina is a nymph whose story connects the river god Asopus, Zeus and the heroic dynasty of Aeacus.

She is traditionally described as a daughter of Asopus.

Zeus carries Aegina to the island that later bears her name. Earlier tradition also knows the island as Oenone.

There Aegina becomes the mother of Aeacus by Zeus.

Through Aeacus, Aegina becomes the ancestress of one of the most important heroic families in Greek mythology.

Her descendants include Peleus and Achilles through one branch, and Telamon and Ajax the Great through another.

Aegina is therefore important not because she dominates a long surviving heroic narrative, but because she stands at the beginning of the Aeacid dynasty.

The island of Aegina retained a particularly strong association with Aeacus, whose reputation as a just and pious king later extended into traditions concerning judgment among the dead.