Aeacus: Difference between revisions

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Aeacus (/ˈiːəkəs/; also spelled Eacus; Ancient Greek: Αἰακός) was a king of the island of Aegina in Greek mythology. He was a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, and the father of the heroes Peleus and Telamon.^[1] According to legend, he was famous for his justice, and after he died he became one of the three judges in the underworld alongside Minos and Rhadamanthus. In another story, he assisted Poseidon and Apollo in building the walls of Troy.

He had sanctuaries in Athens and Aegina, and the Aeginetan festival of the Aeacea (Αἰάκεια) was celebrated in his honour.

Mythology

File:Virgil solis ovid metamorphosen7 11.png

Myrmidons; People from ants for King Aeacus, engraving by Virgil Solis for Ovid's Metamorphoses Book VII, 622–642.

Birth and early days

Aeacus was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, where his mother Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents; afterward, this island became known as Aegina.^[2] He was the father of Peleus, Telamon and Phocus and was the grandfather of the Trojan war warriors Achilles and Telemonian Ajax (aka Ajax the Greater). In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called Alcimache who bore Medon to Oileus of Locris.^[3] Aeacus's sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.^[4]^[5] Some traditions related that, at the time when Aeacus was born, Aegina was not yet inhabited, and that Zeus either changed the ants (μύρμηκες) of the island into the men (Myrmidons) over whom Aeacus ruled, or he made the men grow up out of the earth.^[2] Ovid, on the other hand, supposed that the island was not uninhabited at the time of the birth of Aeacus, instead stating that during the reign of Aeacus, Hera, jealous of Aegina, ravaged the island bearing the name of the latter by sending a plague or a fearful dragon into it, by which nearly all its inhabitants were carried off. Afterward, Zeus restored the population by changing the ants into men.^[3]

These legends seem to be a mythical account of the colonization of Aegina, which seems to have been originally inhabited by Pelasgians, and afterwards received colonists from Phthiotis, the seat of the Myrmidons, and from Phlius on the Asopus. While he reigned in Aegina, Aeacus was renowned in all Greece for his justice and piety, and was frequently called upon to settle disputes not only among men, but even among the gods themselves.^[6] He was such a favourite with the latter, that when Greece was visited by a drought as a consequence of a murder that had been committed, the oracle of Delphi declared that the calamity would not cease unless Aeacus prayed to the gods to end it.^[7] Aeacus prayed, and as a result, the drought ceased. Aeacus then demonstrated his gratitude by erecting a temple to Zeus Panhellenius on Mount Panhellenion,^[8] and afterward, the Aeginetans built a sanctuary on their island called Aeaceum, which was a square temple enclosed by walls of white marble. Aeacus was believed in later times to be buried under the altar of this sacred enclosure.^[9]

Later adventures

A legend preserved in Pindar relates that Apollo and Poseidon took Aeacus as their assistant in building the walls of Troy.^[10] When the work was completed, three dragons rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Thereafter, Apollo prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his sons Telamon and Peleus joined Heracles when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse).^{[citation needed]}

Aeacus was also believed by the Aeginetans to have surrounded their island with high cliffs in order to protect it against pirates.^[9] Several other incidents connected to the story of Aeacus are mentioned by Ovid.^[11] By Endeïs Aeacus had two sons, Telamon (father of Ajax and Teucer) and Peleus (father of Achilles), and by Psamathe a son, Phocus, whom he preferred to the former two sons, both of whom conspired to kill Phocus during a contest, and then subsequently fled from their native island.^{[citation needed]}

In the afterlife

File:Mack, Ludwig, Die Unterwelt, mitte.jpg

Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys by Ludwig Mack, Bildhauer

After his death, Aeacus became one of the three judges in Hades (along with his Cretan half-brothers Rhadamanthus and Minos)^[12] and, according to Plato, was specifically concerned with the shades of Europeans upon their arrival to the underworld.^[13] In works of art he was depicted bearing a sceptre and the keys of Hades.^[14] Aeacus had sanctuaries in both Athens and in Aegina,^[15] and the Aeginetans regarded him as the tutelary deity of their island and celebrated the Aeacea in his honor.^[16]

In The Frogs (405 BC) by Aristophanes, Dionysus descends to Hades and proclaims himself to be Heracles. Aeacus, lamenting the fact that Heracles had stolen Cerberus, sentences Dionysus to Acheron to be tormented by the hounds of Cocytus, the Echidna, the Tartesian eel, and Tithrasian Gorgons.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Aeacus was the son of Zeus by Aegina, a daughter of the river-god Asopus, and thus, brother of Damocrateia.^[17] In some accounts, his mother was Europa and thus possible full-brother to Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.^[18] He was the father of Peleus, Telamon and Phocus and was the grandfather of the Trojan war warriors Achilles and Telemonian Ajax. In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called Alcimache who bore Medon to Oileus of Locris.^[3] Aeacus's sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.^[4] Aeacus's descendants are collectively known as Aeacidae (Αἰακίδαι).^[19] Several times in the Iliad, Homer refers to Achilles as Αἰακίδης (Aiakides: II.860, 874; IX.184, 191, etc.). The kings of Epirus and Olympias, mother to Alexander the Great, claimed to be members of this lineage.

Family tree of Aeacidae

Aeacus
king of Aegina
∞ 1.Endeïs
oread of mount Pelion
2.Psamathe (Nereid)

(1) Telamon
king of Salamis

(1) Peleus
∞ Thetis

(2) Phocus of Aegina

Ajax the Great

Teucer

Achilles
king of Phthia
∞ Deidamia (daughter of Lycomedes)

Trambelus

Neoptolemus/Pyrrhus
king of Epirus
∞ Andromache

Molossus
king of Epirus

MOLOSSIANS

Notes

↑ Apollodorus, 1.9.16
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Apollodorus, 3.12.6; Smith, s.v. Aeacus; Compare Plato, Gorgias 524a
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Scholia on Homer, Iliad 13.694
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Template:Google books
↑ Strabo, 8 p. 375
↑ Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.48; Pausanias, 1.39.6
↑ Apollodorus, 3.12.6, Diodorus Siculus, 4.61.1
↑ Pausanias, 2.30.4
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Pausanias, 2.29.6
↑ Pindar, Olympian Odes 8.39
↑ Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.506 & 9.435
↑ Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.25; Horace, Carmen Saeculare 2.13.22
↑ Plato, Gorgias 524a; Isocrates, Evagoras 15
↑ Pindar, Isthmian Odes 7.47; Apollodorus, 3.12.6
↑ Pausanias, 2.29.6; Scholia ad Pindar, Nemean Odes 13.155; Hesychius s.v.
↑ Pindar, Nemean Odes 8.22
↑ Pythaenetos, quoting the scholiast on Pindar, Olympian Odes 9.107
↑ Smith, s.v. Aeacus. Compare Plato, Gorgias 524a
↑ Smith, William, ed. (1867). "Aeacides". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. 1. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. p. 22.

References

Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Pindar, Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Pindar, The Odes of Pindar including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Strabo, The Geography of Strabo. Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Strabo, Geographica edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

Template:Commons-inline

Template:Greek religion Template:Greek mythology (deities)

[1] Apollodorus, 1.9.16

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Apollodorus, 3.12.6; Smith, s.v. Aeacus; Compare Plato, Gorgias 524a

[:2-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Scholia on Homer, Iliad 13.694

[:3-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Template:Google books

[5] Strabo, 8 p. 375

[6] Pindar, Isthmian Odes 8.48; Pausanias, 1.39.6

[7] Apollodorus, 3.12.6, Diodorus Siculus, 4.61.1

[8] Pausanias, 2.30.4

[Pausanias,_ii._29._§_6-9] 9.0 ^9.1 Pausanias, 2.29.6

[10] Pindar, Olympian Odes 8.39

[11] Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.506 & 9.435

[12] Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.25; Horace, Carmen Saeculare 2.13.22

[13] Plato, Gorgias 524a; Isocrates, Evagoras 15

[14] Pindar, Isthmian Odes 7.47; Apollodorus, 3.12.6

[15] Pausanias, 2.29.6; Scholia ad Pindar, Nemean Odes 13.155; Hesychius s.v.

[16] Pindar, Nemean Odes 8.22

[17] Pythaenetos, quoting the scholiast on Pindar, Olympian Odes 9.107

[18] Smith, s.v. Aeacus. Compare Plato, Gorgias 524a

[19] Smith, William, ed. (1867). "Aeacides". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. 1. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. p. 22.

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 === Birth and early days ===
-Aeacus was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, where his mother Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents; afterward, this island became known as [[Aegina]].<ref name=":0">Apollodorus, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.12.6 3.12.6]; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]; Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]] (aka Ajax the Greater). In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2" /> Aeacus' sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3"/><ref>[[Strabo]], 8 p. 375</ref> Some traditions related that, at the time when Aeacus was born, [[Aegina]] was not yet inhabited, and that Zeus either changed the ants (μύρμηκες) of the island into the men ([[Myrmidons]]) over whom Aeacus ruled, or he made the men grow up out of the earth.<ref name=":0" /> [[Ovid]], on the other hand, supposed that the island was not uninhabited at the time of the birth of Aeacus, instead stating that during the reign of Aeacus, [[Hera]], jealous of Aegina, ravaged the island bearing the name of the latter by sending a plague or a fearful [[dragon]] into it, by which nearly all its inhabitants were carried off. Afterward, Zeus restored the population by changing the ants into men.<ref name=":2" />
+Aeacus was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, where his mother Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents; afterward, this island became known as [[Aegina]].<ref name=":0">Apollodorus, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.12.6 3.12.6]; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]; Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]] (aka Ajax the Greater). In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2" /> Aeacus's sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3"/><ref>[[Strabo]], 8 p. 375</ref> Some traditions related that, at the time when Aeacus was born, [[Aegina]] was not yet inhabited, and that Zeus either changed the ants (μύρμηκες) of the island into the men ([[Myrmidons]]) over whom Aeacus ruled, or he made the men grow up out of the earth.<ref name=":0" /> [[Ovid]], on the other hand, supposed that the island was not uninhabited at the time of the birth of Aeacus, instead stating that during the reign of Aeacus, [[Hera]], jealous of Aegina, ravaged the island bearing the name of the latter by sending a plague or a fearful [[dragon]] into it, by which nearly all its inhabitants were carried off. Afterward, Zeus restored the population by changing the ants into men.<ref name=":2" />
 These legends seem to be a mythical account of the colonization of Aegina, which seems to have been originally inhabited by [[Pelasgians]], and afterwards received colonists from [[Phthiotis]], the seat of the Myrmidons, and from [[Phlius]] on the [[Asopus]]. While he reigned in Aegina, Aeacus was renowned in all Greece for his justice and piety, and was frequently called upon to settle disputes not only among men, but even among the gods themselves.<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Isthmian Odes'' 8.48; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.39.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 1.39.6]</ref> He was such a favourite with the latter, that when Greece was visited by a [[drought]] as a consequence of a murder that had been committed, the oracle of Delphi declared that the calamity would not cease unless Aeacus prayed to the gods to end it.<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 3.12.6], [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#61.1 4.61.1]</ref> Aeacus prayed, and as a result, the drought ceased. Aeacus then demonstrated his gratitude by erecting a temple to ''Zeus Panhellenius'' on Mount Panhellenion,<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.30.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.30.4]</ref> and afterward, the Aeginetans built a sanctuary on their island called Aeaceum, which was a square temple enclosed by walls of white marble. Aeacus was believed in later times to be buried under the altar of this [[sacred enclosure]].<ref name="Pausanias, ii. 29. § 6">Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.29.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.29.6]</ref>
 === Later adventures ===
-A legend preserved in [[Pindar]] relates that [[Apollo]] and [[Poseidon]] took Aeacus as their assistant in building the walls of [[Troy]].<ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes'' 8.39</ref> When the work was completed, three [[dragon]]s rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Thereafter, Apollo prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his sons Telamon and Peleus joined [[Heracles]] when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse).
+A legend preserved in [[Pindar]] relates that [[Apollo]] and [[Poseidon]] took Aeacus as their assistant in building the walls of [[Troy]].<ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes'' 8.39</ref> When the work was completed, three [[dragon]]s rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Thereafter, Apollo prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his sons Telamon and Peleus joined [[Heracles]] when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse).{{cn|date=May 2026}}
-Aeacus was also believed by the Aeginetans to have surrounded their island with high cliffs in order to protect it against [[piracy|pirates]].<ref name="Pausanias, ii. 29. § 6"/> Several other incidents connected to the story of Aeacus are mentioned by [[Ovid]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 7.506 & 9.435</ref> By [[Endeïs]] Aeacus had two sons, [[Telamon]] (father of [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and [[Teucer]]) and [[Peleus]] (father of [[Achilles]]), and by [[Psamathe (Nereid)|Psamathe]] a son, [[Phocus of Aegina|Phocus]], whom he preferred to the former two sons, both of whom conspired to kill Phocus during a contest, and then subsequently fled from their native island.
+Aeacus was also believed by the Aeginetans to have surrounded their island with high cliffs in order to protect it against [[piracy|pirates]].<ref name="Pausanias, ii. 29. § 6"/> Several other incidents connected to the story of Aeacus are mentioned by [[Ovid]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 7.506 & 9.435</ref> By [[Endeïs]] Aeacus had two sons, [[Telamon]] (father of [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and [[Teucer]]) and [[Peleus]] (father of [[Achilles]]), and by [[Psamathe (Nereid)|Psamathe]] a son, [[Phocus of Aegina|Phocus]], whom he preferred to the former two sons, both of whom conspired to kill Phocus during a contest, and then subsequently fled from their native island.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
 === In the afterlife ===
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 After his death, Aeacus became one of the three judges in Hades (along with his [[Minoan Crete|Cretan]] half-brothers [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Minos]])<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 13.25; [[Horace]], ''[[Carmen Saeculare]]'' 2.13.22</ref> and, according to [[Plato]], was specifically concerned with the shades of Europeans upon their arrival to the underworld.<ref>Plato, ''Gorgias'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]; [[Isocrates]], ''Evagoras'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0144%3Aspeech%3D9%3Asection%3D15 15]</ref> In works of art he was depicted bearing a sceptre and the keys of Hades.<ref>Pindar, ''Isthmian Odes'' 7.47; Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 3.12.6]</ref> Aeacus had sanctuaries in both [[Athens]] and in [[Aegina]],<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.29.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.29.6]; Scholia ad Pindar, ''Nemean Odes'' 13.155; [[Hesychius of Miletus|Hesychius]] ''s.v.''</ref> and the Aeginetans regarded him as the tutelary deity of their island and celebrated the [[Aeacea]] in his honor.<ref>Pindar, ''Nemean Odes'' 8.22</ref>
-In ''[[The Frogs]]'' (405 BC) by [[Aristophanes]], [[Dionysus]] descends to Hades and proclaims himself to be [[Heracles]]. Aeacus, lamenting the fact that Heracles had stolen [[Cerberus]], sentences Dionysus to [[Acheron]] to be tormented by the hounds of [[Cocytus]], the [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]], the Tartesian eel, and Tithrasian Gorgons.
+In ''[[The Frogs]]'' (405 BC) by [[Aristophanes]], [[Dionysus]] descends to Hades and proclaims himself to be [[Heracles]]. Aeacus, lamenting the fact that Heracles had stolen [[Cerberus]], sentences Dionysus to [[Acheron]] to be tormented by the hounds of [[Cocytus]], the [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]], the Tartesian eel, and Tithrasian Gorgons.{{cn|date=May 2026}}
 == Family ==
-Aeacus was the son of [[Zeus]] by [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], a daughter of the river-god [[Asopus]], and thus, brother of [[Damocrateia]].<ref>Pythaenetos, quoting the [[scholia]]st on [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' 9.107</ref> In some accounts, his mother was [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] and thus possible full-brother to [[Minos]], [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]].<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]. Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]]. In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2">[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 13.694</ref> Aeacus' sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=12}}</ref> Aeacus' descendants are collectively known as Aeacidae ({{lang|grc|Αἰακίδαι}}).<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Aeacides |chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/37?page=root;rgn=full+text;size=100;view=image |editor-last1=Smith |editor-first1=William |editor-link1=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |title-link=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |page=22 |volume=1 |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown, and Company |year=1867}}</ref> Several times in the ''Iliad'', Homer refers to Achilles as Αἰακίδης (Aiakides: II.860, 874; IX.184, 191, etc.). The [[List of kings of Epirus|kings of Epirus]] and [[Olympias]], mother to [[Alexander the Great]], claimed to be members of this lineage.
+Aeacus was the son of [[Zeus]] by [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], a daughter of the river-god [[Asopus]], and thus, brother of [[Damocrateia]].<ref>Pythaenetos, quoting the [[scholia]]st on [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' 9.107</ref> In some accounts, his mother was [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] and thus possible full-brother to [[Minos]], [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]].<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]. Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]]. In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2">[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 13.694</ref> Aeacus's sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=12}}</ref> Aeacus's descendants are collectively known as Aeacidae ({{lang|grc|Αἰακίδαι}}).<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Aeacides |chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/37?page=root;rgn=full+text;size=100;view=image |editor-last1=Smith |editor-first1=William |editor-link1=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |title-link=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |page=22 |volume=1 |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown, and Company |year=1867}}</ref> Several times in the ''Iliad'', Homer refers to Achilles as Αἰακίδης (Aiakides: II.860, 874; IX.184, 191, etc.). The [[List of kings of Epirus|kings of Epirus]] and [[Olympias]], mother to [[Alexander the Great]], claimed to be members of this lineage.
 === Family tree of Aeacidae ===
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 {{Tree chart| | | Tel | | | | Pel | | Pho |Tel=(1) [[Telamon]]<br />king of Salamis|Pel=(1) [[Peleus]]<br /><small>∞ [[Thetis]]</small>|Pho=(2) [[Phocus of Aegina]]}}
 {{Tree chart| |,|-|+|-|.| | | |!| | | | |}}
-{{Tree chart| Aja |!| Teu | | Ach |Aja=[[Ajax the Great]]|Teu=[[Teucer]]|Ach=[[Achilles]]<br />king of Phthia<br /><small>∞ [[Deidamia (mythology)]]</small>}}
+{{Tree chart| Aja |!| Teu | | Ach |Aja=[[Ajax the Great]]|Teu=[[Teucer]]|Ach=[[Achilles]]<br />king of Phthia<br /><small>∞ [[Deidamia (daughter of Lycomedes)]]</small>}}
 {{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | |!| }}
 {{Tree chart| | | Tra | | | | Neo |Tra=[[Trambelus]]|Neo=[[Neoptolemus]]/Pyrrhus<br />king of Epirus<br /><small>∞ [[Andromache]]</small>}}
@@ Line 102: / Line 102: @@
 [[Category:Greek underworld]]
 [[Category:Mythological Aeginetans]]
-[[Category:Children of Zeus]]
+[[Category:Sons of Zeus]]
 [[Category:Greek judges of the dead]]
 [[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
 [[Category:Kings of the Myrmidons]]
 [[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]

Aeacus: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:10, 18 May 2026

Contents

Mythology

Birth and early days

Later adventures

In the afterlife

Family

Family tree of Aeacidae

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

Aeacus: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 14:10, 18 May 2026

Mythology

Birth and early days

Later adventures

In the afterlife

Family

Family tree of Aeacidae

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

Search