In Greek mythology, Ganymede (Greek: Γανυμήδης, Ganumêdês)) was
a divine hero whose homeland was the Troad. As a beautiful
Trojan prince, son of eponymous Tros himself, Ganymede became
Zeus's lover and cupbearer to the gods. For the etymology of his
name Robert Graves (The Greek Myths) offers ganuesthai + medea,
"rejoicing in virility." Ganymede was kidnapped by Zeus from
Mount Ida in Phrygia, the setting for more than one myth-element
bearing on the early mythic history of Troy. Ganymede was there,
passing the time of exile many heros undergo in their youth, by
tending a flock of sheep or, alternatively, during the chthonic
or rustic aspect of his education, while gathering among his
friends and tutors. Zeus saw him and fell in love with him
instantly, either sending an eagle or assuming his own eagle
nature to transport Ganymede to Mount Olympus. Ganymede was
Trojan not Greek, a fact of his origin that identifies him as
part of the earliest, pre-Hellenic level of Aegean myth. Plato's
Timaeus was of the opin