Auriga (constellation) as Myrtilus, who was Hermes's son and the charioteer of Oenomaus. The association of Auriga and Myrtilus is supported by depictions of the constellation, which rarely show a chariot. Myrtilus's chariot was destroyed in a race intended for suitors to win the heart of Oenomaus's daughter Hippodamia. Myrtilus earned his position in the sky when Hippodamia's successful suitor, Pelops, killed him, despite his complicity in helping Pelops win her hand. After his death, Myrtilus's father Hermes placed him in the sky. Yet another mythological association of Auriga is Theseus's son Hippolytus. He was ejected from Athens after he refused the
The Charioteer The Charioteer The Charioteer is a 1953 war novel by Mary Renault. It was first published in the United States in 1959. "The Charioteer" is significant because it features a prominent gay theme at an early date and quickly became a bestseller within the gay community. This romance novel is set in the period of World War II at a military hospital during nightly bomb raids and blackouts. The story's protagonist, Laurie 'Spud' Odell, is a young soldier wounded at Dunkirk (Renault worked as a nurse during the war), who must decide if his affections lie with a conscientious objector