Chryseis

Chryseis returned to her father (1771) by Benjamin West

In Greek mythology, Chryseis (/krˈsɪs/, Ancient Greek: Χρυσηΐς, romanizedKhrusēís, pronounced [kʰryːsɛːís]) is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Chryses. Chryseis, her apparent name in the Iliad, means simply "Chryses' daughter"; later writers give her real name as Astynome (Ἀστυνόμη).[1] The 12th-century poet Tzetzes describes her to be "very young and thin, with milky skin; had blond hair and small breasts; nineteen years old and still a virgin".[2]

As the "golden one" she is also the title-giving character of the Baroque alchemical epic Chryseidos Libri IIII (1631).

  1. ^ Scholia on the Iliad; Hesychius, Lexicon; Malalas, Chronographia 100; Eustathius of Thessalonica, Commentary on the Iliad 1.123.9 van der Valk.
  2. ^ John Tzetzes. Antehomerica, 353-355