When the inhabitants of the island of Aegina were wiped out by a plague, the Greek good Zeus rewarded his son Aeacus, the island's leader, by creating new human beings from ants to re-people the place. According to Greek legend, these people were called Myrmidons after the tribe of ants (myrmax). The Myrmidons later followed Achilles to the Trojan War, in which they were noted for their faithful obedience and brutality. Their name is applied to officers of the law - policemen, sheriffs, and others - who carry out any order unthinkingly and without scruples.