Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Danaids

DEFINITION:

A bizarre bit of Greek mythology. The Danaids were fifty daughters of Danaus, a mythical king of Egypt and part of the legend that forms the mythical founding of Argos. The young women all married the fifty sons of Aegyptus, the twin brother of Danaus and, as indicated by the name, another mythic king of Egypt and Arabia. According to the story, the Danaids murdered their husbands (except for one) on their wedding night. The story seems to be a mythic representation of a struggle for control of Argos.