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Ganymede

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

Beautiful Trojan prince abducted by Zeus (often in the form of an eagle) to Mount Olympus to serve as cupbearer to the gods, becoming a symbol of divine favor and homoerotic love.

Detailed Definition
Ganymede, renowned for his beauty, was taken to Olympus by Zeus in eagle form to replace Hebe as divine cupbearer. He was granted immortality and a place among the stars as Aquarius. Poets invoke him as a symbol of divine favor, homoerotic desire, and the elevation of mortal beauty to celestial status.
Example
Example in poetry:
Ganymede, abducted by Zeus as an eagle to serve as cupbearer, appears in Homer’s Iliad; In Virgil’s Aeneid, Ganymede’s beauty is praised among Trojan youths; Ovid recounts his apotheosis in Metamorphoses; Theognis’s elegies reference Ganymede as a symbol of divine favor; Renaissance poetry uses Ganymede to explore homoerotic desire; Modern verse reclaims Ganymede as an icon of queer mythology.
Additional Notes
Ganymede, a Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cupbearer to the gods, symbolizes divine favor, homoerotic desire, and immortalization; his myth appears in Virgil and later Renaissance art—relevant in poetry about beauty, abduction, or transcendent love; the constellation Aquarius is linked to him.
Other Meanings of “Ganymede”
Also Known As
Cupbearer of Zeus Abducted Youth Ganymēdēs
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