In Greek mythology, the Daughters of Danaus or Danaids (also Danaides or Danaïdes; Greek: Δαναΐδες; /dəˈneɪɪdiːz/) were the fifty daughters of Danaus. They were to marry the fifty sons of Danaus's twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the most common version of the myth, all but one of them kill their husbands on their wedding night, and are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated device. In the classical tradition, they come to represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed (see also Sisyphus).
Read more about Daughters Of Danaus: Mythology, Other Danaids, Modern Literature
Famous quotes containing the words daughters of and/or daughters:
“For even daughters of the swan can share
Something of every paddler’s heritage—”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy...and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Deuteronomy 7:1-4.