Hypsipyle

Hypsipyle was the daughter of king Thoas of the island of Lemnos. The Lemnian women had neglected sacrifices to Aphrodite. The touchy goddess punished them with a malodorous body smell so that their spouses would avoid them. Whereupon the men took up with female slaves.

The women of the island, furious at their husbands’ betrayal, decided upon revenge. In one night, they murdered all their male relatives. Thoas’ fate hung in Hypsipyle’s hands. She could not bring herself to kill her father. She helped him escape...