Myrmidons

“What are Myrmidons?” is possibly the number one question I get asked regarding my blog.  Most people assume it’s another word for merman, which is quite logical.

Strangely enough, it means “Ant-Man”^[1] (I’m NOT kidding!).  This is because Zeus disguised himself as an ant in order to seduce the lovely Eurymedusa. The resulting son of this union is…you guessed it!  Ant-man (or Myrmidon).^[2]  His myth is rather obscure, and is really only of any importance because of Achilles, who ruled the Myrmidons. Without Achilles, Ant-man would be nemo (no-man, or “Nohbody” for you Odyssey lovers out there!).  

So why did I choose this obscure tribe to be part of my title?  It wasn’t based on making it easy to get to my website, I can tell you that much! (Honestly, probably the second most asked question is “how do you spell that?).

When I began thinking about blogging my thoughts on seeking God in stories, I knew mermaids had to be a part of it – for what evokes the mysteries of fairy tales better than mermaids?

However, I wanted to evoke more than just fairy tales.  I wanted to channel all stories, especially the Greek myths I’d fallen in love with in college. And what better way to evoke this than to use a name sounding so very similar to mermaids!  Thus, before I even began to blog, “Myrmidons” was quickly incorporated into my blog title.

Now, I don’t necessarily like Myrmidons.  In fact, Achilles was kind of a jerk.  However, I liked the double “mer” sound…and after hearing it, there was really no other word I could consider!

 

 

Sources on Myrmidons

[1] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusLoves3.html

[2] http://www.mythindex.com/greek-mythology/M/Myrmidon.html