Pelops, the son of Tantalus, ancestor of Agamemnon and Menelaus, and eponym of the Peloponnesian peninsula, is a fascinating ancient Greek hero. P.-H.'s new book provides the first English language monograph dealing with this intriguing hero, and it continues his publications on this heroic character. Over the last two decades P.-H. has established himself as an expert on Pelops, and this new study brings together his theories about Pelops and the myths associated with this character (for some of his previous publications on Pelops, see Hermes 149 [2021], 260–79; Orbis Terrarum 15 [2017], 113–30).
The volume consists of three main parts, beginning with ‘Pelops and His Family’, divided into two chapters: the first focuses on Pelops’ childhood and marriage, and the second looks at his marriage to Hippodameia and his role as the ruler of the Peloponnese. Part 2, ‘The Making of Pelops from Different Perspectives’, is split into three chapters, investigating Pelops from different approaches. Chapter 3 examines Pelops from the perspectives of folklore and ethnography, while Chapter 4 focuses on art and archaeology, with Chapter 5 moving on to linguistic and geographic aspects. Part 3, ‘Pelops Afterwards’, moves the focus to the reception of Pelops and contains two chapters: ‘Modest Remembering and Occasional Revival’ (Chapter 6) and ‘Popularity due to an Ancient Mistake’ (Chapter 7). Each chapter is structured by subheadings, guiding readers excellently through P.-H.'s arguments and the themes of the monograph. The volume closes with a brief conclusion, including a helpful guide to further reading.
An appendix contains a selection of key sources on Pelops, his family and his descendants; these sources are numbered and signposted throughout the volume, making it straightforward for readers to look up the relevant ancient sources. Navigation is further supported by P.-H.'s signposting to places where he elaborates on topics discussed elsewhere in the book, such as on page 71, where he states that, ‘Pausanias probably did not enter (or was not allowed to enter) and therefore did not give a detailed description of it (cf. below p. 119)’. The pages mentioned here pertain to subsections dealing with the death and burial of Pelops (section 2.4) and the cult of Pelops and its location at Olympia (section 4.2).
Part 1's focus on Pelops and his family is intriguing; it systematically discusses the mythical family of Pelops, ending with a discussion of a fifth-century monument found at Olympia referring to the Achaean ethnos (pp. 85–90). P.-H. argues against this monument being established by the Achaean League and, instead, provides an argument for the monument to be read in the Homeric sense; that is, he proposes that the reference to Achaeans on this monument refers to a group of Greeks fighting against an external enemy, putting it in the context of the Peloponnesian efforts in the Persian Wars (pp. 88–90). While this reviewer agrees that it is unlikely that there was a political Achaean Federation on the north coast of the Peloponnese at this time, an alternative solution to P.-H.'s suggestion may be that the monument was dedicated by an Achaean ethnic group, which was going through a process of ethnic formation in the early fifth century. In the context of such an interpretation a link to the Homeric Achaeans also makes sense, but then rather with the Achaeans of the northern Peloponnese constructing a connection for themselves to the Achaeans mentioned in Homeric poetry (see also E. Mackil, Creating a Common Polity [2013], pp. 176–7).
The themes highlighted within Part 2 include the relationship between Pelops and animals. Chapter 3, for example, proposes that the cooking and resurrection of Pelops fits best compared with stories relating to animals (see pp. 108–9). Chapter 4 argues that the myth of Pelops and Hippodameia was originally not associated with the kidnapping of a bride, but rather with hunting (pp. 143–8). P.-H. builds up these arguments by discussing different types of fairy tales and their similarities to mythical characters, such as Atalante, Jason and Medea, as well as more remote stories, such as the tales of Sedna (pp. 139–46, see especially the discussion of Atalante pp. 143–5). Within this line of argument P.-H. proposes that hunts by aristocrats at Olympia led to the extinction of large game animals in the area. He proposes that the extinction of these animals further led to the need for sporting competitions, arguing that such developments may have been the source of the Olympic Games and that it is in relation to this that the ‘fairy tale’ of Pelops and Hippodamia was created (pp. 146–7). This is an intriguing explanation for the origin of the games as well as the origin and changes to the myth of Pelops.
Part 3 focuses on the reception of Pelops, starting with the ballad, ‘The most famous and tragicall historie of Pelops and Hippodamia’ by Mathew Grove from 1587 and André Campra's opera Hippodamie from 1708. P.-H. further provides an overview of iconographic representations of myths associated with Pelops from the Early Modern Period (pp. 177–9). Following this overview, P.-H. discusses the continued reception of Pelops up to the twenty-first century (pp. 181–91). Throughout this chapter P.-H. provides an excellent overview of the post-ancient reception of Pelops and the myths associated with him.
The final chapter of Part 3, ‘Popularity due to an Ancient Mistake’, examines figure G on the east pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia. This figure has been traditionally regarded as a representation of Pelops; however, P.-H. argues that this identification is unsatisfactory based on the available evidence and the iconography of figure G (pp. 197–9). The original suggestion of Pelops is highlighted in the work of Pausanias, who visited Olympia in the second century ce, and P.-H. proposes that Pausanias’ account was influenced by the local pride of Elean guides (pp. 201–2). As Pelops was the most important hero for the region of Elis (Pausanias 5.13.1), it would make sense to construct a narrative of this hero as Pelops, regardless of who it originally depicted. P.-H. proposes that this figure, instead, shows Achilles and that it depicts the reconciliation between Achilles and Agamemnon (pp. 200–1, 205–6; P.-H. also puts forward this thesis in New Approaches to the Temple of Zeus at Olympia [2015], pp. 1–14, esp. pp. 6, 13–14). He constructs this argument well and provides a good potential historical context for the construction of the temple and the proposed inclusion of Achilles on the east pediment, placing it in connection with Xerxes’ invasion of Greece (pp. 201–6). This is an interesting solution to the issue of the identity of figure G and the context of the historical construction of the temple in 464 bce. Nevertheless, while it is an intriguing idea, this reviewer still maintains the traditional identification of figure G as Pelops (for another scholar following the more traditional view, see J. Barringer, Olympia: a Cultural History [2021], pp. 124–6 with n. 84; see pp. 121–2 n. 72 for Barringer discussing P.-H.'s idea of the origin of the classical temple at Olympia).
The book's conclusion sums up the content and arguments of the monograph excellently. Despite some minor errors and this reviewer not always agreeing with P.-H.'s argument, the volume provides interesting suggestions to further our understanding of myths associated with Pelops.
