Chrysippus of Elis

Lore & Background

Chrysippus was the bastard son of Pelops, king of Pisa, and the nymph Axioche or Danais, though Hellanicus considered him a legitimate son from a previous marriage. According to Pseudo-Plutarch, Pelops loved Chrysippus best of all his children. The beautiful youth lived in his father's palace when Pelops welcomed the exiled Theban prince Laius, who became Chrysippus' tutor. Laius fell in love with the boy and, while escorting him to the Nemean Games, instead carried him off to Thebes and raped him. This crime brought a curse upon Laius, his city, and his family. In some versions, Pelops cursed Laius to be killed by his own child; in others, Chrysippus' half-brothers retrieved him, but Laius was pardoned. A late scholiast claims Chrysippus killed himself out of shame. Another rare version bypasses the curse entirely, involving Oedipus as an adopted brother of Chrysippus.

Reader's Guide

Chrysippus' significance lies in his role as a catalyst for two major mythological curses: the curse on the house of Laius (leading to the tragedy of Oedipus) and the curse on the house of Atreus (the Atreidae). His abduction and rape by Laius are presented as the first instance of pederasty in Greek myth, a transgression that angered Hera and brought the Sphinx upon Thebes. The myth explores themes of forbidden desire, abuse of hospitality, and the generational consequences of crime. The lost Euripidean play likely condemned Laius' use of force, while the story's variations—including Chrysippus' suicide or murder by his half-brothers—highlight the instability of the mythic tradition. Fowler suggested that such curses were used to explain the collapse of Bronze Age Greece. The myth's treatment in Athenian tragedy reflects fifth-century BC interest in ancestral curses and the destructive power of erotic passion.

Did You Know?

• Chrysippus' name means 'golden horse' in Ancient Greek.
• He was sometimes referred to as Chrysippus of Pisa.
• Later philosophical sources anachronistically credited Laius as the first man to introduce the love of nobleborn boys.
• The lost play 'Chrysippus' by Euripides is one of several early accounts of his tale, alongside references in Pindar's Olympian Odes and lost works by Aeschylus.

Origins, Family & the Weight of Favoritism

Chrysippus, whose name translates to "golden horse," was a divine hero of Elis in the Peloponnesus, sometimes called Chrysippus of Pisa. He was the son of Pelops, king of Pisa in the western Peloponnesus, born to the nymph Axioche or Danais outside of wedlock. However, the historian Hellanicus of Lesbos presented a different account, claiming Chrysippus was actually a legitimate son from a previous marriage of Pelops. What unites most versions is the extraordinary bond between father and son: according to Pseudo-Plutarch, of all Pelops' children, Chrysippus was the one he loved most dearly. This favoritism would prove to be the seed of catastrophic jealousy among Pelops' other children, particularly his half-sons Atreus and Thyestes, whose mother Hippodamia resented that her husband's affection and, in some tellings, his intention to bequeath the kingdom, leaned so heavily toward the boy born of a nymph. Chrysippus' status as a beloved yet socially marginal figure—acknowledged but set apart—would define every major event in his short and tragic life.

The Abduction by Laius

The central episode of Chrysippus' myth involves the Theban prince Laius, who arrived at Pisa as an exiled guest and was warmly received at Pelops' court. Laius became the young Chrysippus' tutor, but his admiration for the boy's beauty quickly curdled into an obsessive desire. Under the pretext of escorting Chrysippus to the Nemean Games, where the youth intended to compete, Laius instead carried him off to Thebes and raped him. The crime triggered Pelops' devastating curse: in one version, he doomed Laius to be slain by his own child and waged war to recover his son; in another, Atreus and Thyestes captured Laius and brought Chrysippus home, but Pelops pardoned the abductor after Laius claimed he had acted out of love. A late scholiast citing Peisander reports that Chrysippus killed himself with a sword in shame. Other traditions name Zeus or even Theseus as the kidnapper. The episode was so foundational that it was credited with introducing the love of nobleborn boys into Theban culture, a practice the Thebans regarded as honorable despite the fates of both Laius and Oedipus.

Murder, Maternal Guilt & the Curse of the Atreidae

Chrysippus' life was ultimately ended by his own half-brothers. According to Hellanicus of Lesbos and Thucydides, Atreus and Thyestes murdered him out of jealousy, casting his body into a well. Their motive was typically instigated by their mother Hippodamia, who envied Pelops' deep love for Chrysippus and feared he would leave the kingdom to the boy rather than to her sons. In one striking variant, when her sons refused to act, Hippodamia herself seized the sleeping Laius' sword and stabbed Chrysippus in the belly, leaving the weapon in place to frame Laius; Chrysippus lived just long enough to expose the truth before dying. Regardless of who wielded the blade, Pelops blamed Hippodamia, and she either took her own life or fled to Midea in the Argolid. He then exiled his sons and pronounced a curse upon them: their descendants would bring ruin upon one another. This anathema became known as the curse of the Atreidae, a generational doom that would echo through Greek tragedy for centuries. Some scholars also connect Chrysippus' death to the earlier curse Myrtilus placed on Pelops after being betrayed and thrown from a cliff.

Dramatic Legacy & the Lost Play of Euripides

The earliest known literary treatment of Chrysippus' story was a play by the Athenian tragedian Euripides, also titled Chrysippus, now lost but referenced by later sources. Its plot encompassed Laius' arrival at Pisa, his encounter with the boy, his internal struggle with desire, the abduction, and Chrysippus' death. Surviving fragments suggest Chrysippus rejected Laius, prompting the kidnapping, possibly under the guise of teaching him chariot-driving. The play likely concluded with an eyewitness reporting the events to Pelops, the return of Chrysippus' body, and the king's curse. A lost comedy by Strattis, modeled on Euripides' version, featured an actual chariot on stage. Scholars debate whether Euripides invented the narrative or drew on older traditions. Thematically, the play appears to have examined the tension between elite pederastic culture and broader social norms, condemning not pederasty per se but Laius' use of force and violation of sacred hospitality. The story's resonance in Theban mythology—potentially linking Chrysippus' violation to Hera's sending of the Sphinx in the lost epic Oedipodea—ensured its place at the root of some of Greek literature's most enduring tragedies.

Gallery