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Alphesiboea

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Daughter of Phegeus, king of Psophis, who married the matricide Alcmaeon. When he abandoned her for Callirhoe, her brothers killed him, triggering cycles of revenge and tragedy.

Detailed Definition
Alphesiboea was the daughter of King Phegeus and wife of Alcmaeon, who was caught in a web of matricide and retribution. Her story, part of the Theban and Argive myth cycles, ends in tragedy. Poets use her tale to explore themes of guilt, vengeance, and the inescapability of fate, particularly in tragic and elegiac verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Alphesiboea, wife of Alcmaeon, appears in Apollodorus’s Bibliotheca as a figure caught in familial vengeance; Poets might use her name to explore themes of loyalty amid blood feuds; In tragic fragments, her story illustrates the cost of inherited curses; “Alphesiboea’s lament” could serve as a refrain in elegiac poetry; Her narrative provides a lens for examining female agency in mythic cycles.
Additional Notes
Alphesiboea’s story is entangled in the Orestean cycle of blood guilt: after her husband Alcmaeon kills his mother Eriphyle, he seeks purification and marries Alphesiboea, only to be murdered by her brothers. Her tale illustrates how women in myth often become pawns in male-driven vengeance cycles. Euripidean tragedy and Apollodorus treat her fate, offering rich ground for feminist reinterpretation.
Also Known As
Alphesiboia
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