In Greek mythology, Marpessa was an Aetolian princess and a granddaughter of Ares, her name (Ancient Greek Μάρπησσα) meaning "the robbed one." She was the daughter of King Evenus of Aetolia and was courted both by the hero Idas and by the god Apollo. Idas abducted her using a winged chariot given by Poseidon, and when Zeus let her choose between the mortal and the god, she chose Idas, fearing Apollo would abandon her in old age. By Idas she bore Cleopatra, the future wife of the hero Meleager.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Marpessa of Aetolia" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family
Marpessa was the daughter of King Evenus of Aetolia (son of Ares either by Demonice or Sterope) and the princess Alcippe, daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa. She attracted the attention of the hero Idas as well as the god Apollo.
Marpessa eventually married Idas, by whom she begot Cleopatra, the future wife of the hero Meleager.
II.Mythology
Marpessa was a beautiful lady, described as being "fair-ankled." Idas, son of King Aphareus, came from Messenia to ask for Marpessa's hand, but Evenus refused because he wanted his daughter to remain a virgin. Idas went to his father Poseidon and begged for the use of a winged chariot. After Poseidon consented, Idas kidnapped Marpessa and carried her away from a band of dancers to Pleuron in Aetolia.
Her father, after chasing the couple for a long time, realized he could not catch them. In his madness, he killed his horses and drowned himself in the nearby river Lycormas, becoming immortal; the river was later named after him.
In another version, Apollo also wanted Marpessa and pursued Idas as he carried her away. As the two fought for her hand, Zeus intervened and asked Marpessa to choose between the mortal and the god. Marpessa chose Idas, reasoning that had she chosen the god, she would in time have grown old and lost his affections.
In Homer's version, Marpessa was already married to Idas when Apollo carried her away. Idas, described as the "mightiest of men," took his bow to face the god for the sake of the fair-ankled maid. When Idas was slain by Polydeuces, one of the Dioscuri, Marpessa killed herself.
III.Modern Use of the Name
The name Marpessa was given to a 206,000-ton Shell Oil supertanker (a VLCC). In December 1969, it became the world's largest oil tanker to sink up to that date. The ship had been on its maiden voyage from Europort, Rotterdam, when an explosion ripped through the hull and it foundered some 50 miles off the west coast of Africa.