The family trees of the British aristocracy are almost as muddled and difficult to memorize as the ancient Greek lineages. Therefore, it seems rather natural that the characters of Downton Abbey, who would have been educated in the classic stories of Greek heros, would reference these characters. Here is the Sparknotes version of two such Greek characters chucked around at the dinner table.
Season One:
Mary: I've been studying the story of Andromeda; do you know it?
Matthew: Why?
Mary: Her father was King Cepheus, whose country was being ravaged by storms. And, in the end, he decided the only way to appease the gods was to sacrifice his eldest daughter to a hideous sea monster. So they chained her, naked, to a rock--
Dowager Countess: Really! Mary! We'll all need our smelling salts in a minute!
Matthew: But the sea monster didn't get her, did he?
Mary: No. Just when it seemed he was the only solution to her father's problems, she was rescued.
Matthew: By Perseus.
Mary: That's right. Perseus. Son of a god. Rather more fitting, wouldn't you say?
Matthew: That depends. I'd have to know more about the princess and the sea monster in question.
Perseus is the son of Danae and Zeus; having a god's DNA in one means that you are destined to a life of adventure and will rarely get to sit at home to watch your kids grow up, catch the Superbowl game, etc. Perseus' life included being tossed into the ocean with his mum as a baby (his grandfather was a bit superstitious), visiting the Graeae (3 old women with one eye to share), and slaying Medusa (yes, the one with snakes for hair and a killer stare). Makes me wonder what I've been doing with my life in comparison to Perseus' checklist.
Anyways, the story referenced in Downton Abbey is that of Perseus and Andromeda. Andromeda had a boastful mother, never a good thing in ancient times. She got Poseidon just a bit upset, resulting in Cepheus and Cassiopeia having to tie their daughter to a rock. When one gets the Greek gods mad, someone has to die. So Poseidon sent in a sea monster to do the evil deed. Luckily, Perseus happened to be in town. Now, whether he saved her with the help of winged shoes or by riding Pegasus is up for debate. None the less, Andromeda was saved by Perseus, and they get married despite Andromeda being engaged to another man. End of story.
Fun Fact of the Day: Clash of the Titans (2010), loosely based on the story of Perseus, has Elizabeth McGovern (Cora in Downton Abbey) in it as Marmara. Watch for her closely cause once she is gone, she is gone.
Season Two:
Cora: Before you scold me, it's no good pretending Mary is not a good deal too attached to Matthew.
Lord Grantham: So you summon Lavinia? To be sacrificed like some later-day Iphigenia, doomed to push his chair through all eternity?
Iphigenia is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in ancient Greece. Her name translates as "born to strength". On his way to fight the Trojan War, Iphigenia's daddy got Artemis (a goddess) rather mad because he shot a deer in a sacred grove, and on top of all that, decided to boast how he was a better hunter than Artemis. Once again, bad decision on the parent's part. Agamemnon's ship gets stuck in the doldrums, and the only way to end it is for somebody to die (namely, his daughter). So he writes home, telling his wife that he has found a husband for Iphigenia and to please send her ASAP. Iphigenia shows up, and the earliest accounts say that was the last day she lived. Later accounts try to make it happier, for instance she was replaced by a goat during the sacrifice or she gets to marry Achilles after she is dead. Whether she died willingly or not is up for debate in more modern interpretations of the story. None the less, she portrays the dutiful woman, rather like Lavinia.
