Hilaeira


In Greek mythology, Hilaera was a Messenian princess.

Family

Hilaera was a daughter of Leucippus and Philodice, daughter of Inachus. She and her sister Phoebe are commonly referred to as Leucippides. In another account, they were the daughters of Apollo. Hilaera married Castor and bore him a son, named either Anogon or Anaxis.

Mythology

Hilaera and Phoebe were priestesses of Artemis and Athena, and betrothed to Lynceus and Idas, the sons of Aphareus. Castor and Pollux were charmed by their beauty and carried them off. When Idas and Lynceus tried to rescue their brides-to-be they were both slain, but Castor himself fell. Pollux persuaded Zeus to allow him to share his immortality with his brother.
Hilaera and Phoebe are both portrayed in the painting The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus.