Cephalus, the king of Athens, was at war with Minos, the king of Crete. Cephalus visited his old ally Aeacus, the king of the island of Aegina, to ask for help. There, he was surprised to see many young men of apparently the same age; though he was not able to find any of his acquaintances from before. When he asked Aeacus, he told the following incredible story.
The island of Aegina was once devastated by a plague sent by Juno, a Roman Goddess who was Jupiter’s wife. The people of Aegina tried natural remedies, but they failed. The plague first affected the animals. Dogs, cows, sheep, horses, and birds died in large numbers. Their dead and decaying bodies caused an infection, which affected first the country-dwellers and then the town folks. The infected people burned with fever and gasped for breath.
The physicians were of no help because they too became sick when they came in contact with the patients.
Aeacus went to the temple of Jupiter. He raised his hands to the sky and said, “If you are indeed my Father, give me back my people or take me also away.” At these words, a clap of thunder was heard. Aeacus accepted it as Jupiter’s reply. In front of the temple stood a big Oak tree that was considered a symbol of Jupiter. Aeacus observed a troop of ants going up the trunk of the tree in a line with tiny grains in their mouth. Observing the hard-working ants with admiration, Aeacus said, “O Father! Give me citizens as numerous as these and replenish my city.”
That night, Aeacus went to sleep in the temple and saw the Oak tree in his dream. The branches of the tree were covered with ants. The tree shook its branches and a large number of ants fell from it. The ants grew in size, stood erect, shed their black colour, and assumed human form. A shocked Aeacus woke up with
a start. Once awake, he heard the sounds of a large number of people from outside the temple. He thought this was unusual because not many people were left in his kingdom.
When he opened the temple gates, he was surprised to see a large number of men, similar to the ones he had seen in his dream, passing by in a procession. They kneeled before Aeacus and hailed him as their king. Aeacus allotted the vacant city to these newcomers and parcelled out fields to them. He called them Myrmidons after the myrmex ants from whom they had evolved. These men, just like the ants they were previously, were hard-working and industrious and made the kingdom of Aeacus, a strong one.