| Omphale | |
|---|---|
Queen of Lydia | |
| Member of the Royal House of Lydia | |
 | |
| Abode | Lydia |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Iardanus (or Iardanes) |
| Consort | Tmolus, Heracles |
| Children | Sons by Heracles |
In Greek mythology, Omphale (/ˈɒmfəˌliː/; Ancient Greek: Ὀμφάλη, romanized: Omphale, lit. 'navel') was princess of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode.[1] The Greeks did not recognize her as a goddess: the undisputed etymological connection with omphalos, the world-navel, has never been made clear.[2] In her best-known myth, she is the mistress of the hero Heracles during a year of required servitude, a scenario that, according to some,[3] offered writers and artists opportunities to explore sexual roles and erotic themes.
- ^ Aeschylus, Agamemnon, lines 1024-25.
- ^ "No connection between the two has been established, difficult as it is to believe there was no connection between them in early religion." (Elmer G. Suhr. "Herakles and Omphale", American Journal of Archaeology 57:4 (October 1953), 251-263 (p. 259f.).
- ^ Rosenthal, Lisa (November 2006). "Gender, Politics, and Allegory in the Art of Rubens". Historians of Netherlandish Art Reviews.