Mythological Couples: Idas and Marpessa

Greetings everyone!

After quite some time, we're talking about mythological couples again. Marpessa and Idas have quite an interesting story, so let's get right into it! 

Marpessa was a very beautiful and noble girl, daughter of Evenus and Alcippe. Evenus did not want her married to anyone, so he devised a plan to get rid of all aspiring suitors: any man wishing to marry Marpessa would first have to defeat him in a chariot race; if they failed, they would be decapitated.

Evenus was sure of his success, because his horses were strong and fierce, given to him by his father, Ares.

Many men lost their lives in the chariot race; and many did not even dare to compete with Evenus. There was a man though, Idas, the prince of Messene, who though he could win the race; he owned a winged chariot, a gift to him by Poseidon himself, so he figured he stood a pretty good chance against Evenus.

He did win, so naturally he demanded to marry Marpessa, as Evenus had promised. Evenus refused, but Idas would have none of that. He kidnapped Marpessa and set off for his homeland. Evenus went after them, but when he realised he could not stop them, he drowned himself in a nearby river.

Idas and Marpessa eventually reached Messene. They spent the night in a nearby temple, but upon waking up the next morning, Idas realised that Marpessa had gone missing.

Here's Apollo fighting Idas for Marpessa. (more details can be found here)
Surprisingly enough there are very few depictions in art, and this was the only one properly referenced, so we're sharing.

It turned out that Apollo, who had also fallen in love with the beautiful maiden, had stolen her. Idas, completely enraged, ran after them, prepared to fight to death in order to get Marpessa back.

They fought for hours; Apollo might be a god, but Idas was an extremely skilled warrior too so none of them was yielding. Knowing that neither was going to win, Zeus decided to put an end to their battle. He stopped them and asked Marpessa to choose between the two; the choice would be hers alone.

Marpessa was confused. A god wanted her, so naturally she was flattered. Apollo was handsome and powerful and he could give her the world. But he also would never grow old, while she would. Sure, Apollo loved her now that she was young and beautiful; once she grew old and lost her beauty, someone else would catch his eye and he would lose interest in her and dismiss her.

On the other side, Idas might be mortal and not nearly as handsome as Apollo, but he had proved his love for her; he was so determined to marry her, he had even fought against a god for her sake! She had a better chance at a long-lasting and faithful relationship with him. .

Instantly, she knew what to do. She turned down Apollo and chose Idas as her husband. Surprisingly, Apollo, although defeated, made a promise to never seek revenge.

With nothing else standing in their way, Idas and Marpessa finally got married and lived happily ever after.

Until next time!