In Greek mythology, Myrmidon (/ˈmɜːrmɪdən/[1] or /ˈmɜːrmɪdɒn/;[2] Ancient Greek: Μυρμιδόνος, Murmidónos) was the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons in one version of the myth.[3]
Myrmidon was the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa,[4] daughter of Cleitor (Cletor)[5] or of the river god Achelous.[6]
He married Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, and by her became the father of Antiphus and Actor.[7] Also given as his sons were Erysichthon[8] and Dioplethes, father of Perieres,[9] although Erysichthon and Perieres have been ascribed with different parentage. Also, Myrmidon had two daughters: Eupolemeia (mother of the Argonaut Aethalides by Hermes)[10] and Hiscilla (mother of Phorbas by Triopas).[11]
Zeus was said to have approached Eurymedusa in the form of an ant (Greek μύρμηξ, myrmēx), which was where her son's name came from; others say that Myrmex was the name of Eurymedusa's mortal husband, and that it was his shape that Zeus assumed to approach her.[12]