Eurytion (king of Phthia)
Eurytion /jʊəˈrɪʃən/ (Greek: Εὐρυτίων,[1] "widely honoured") or Eurythion /jʊəˈrɪθiən/ (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυθίων) was a king of Phthia. He was also counted among the Argonauts[2] and the Calydonian hunters. [3] The writer Tzetzes called Eurytion as Eurytus.[4]
Family
[edit]Eurytion was the swift son of either of Irus[5] and Demonassa,[6] or of Kenethos and Cerion[citation needed], and father of Antigone.[7] His father was also called Actor, king of Phthia[8] who otherwise known as his grandfather for Irus was the son of Actor.[9][10] If Eurytion's father was Irus, he was the brother of Eurydamas, also an Argonaut.[6]
| Relation | Names | Sources | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apollonius | Apollodorus | Hyginus | Antoninus | Orphic | Unknown | ||
| Parentage | Irus | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Irus and Demonassa | ✓ | ||||||
| Actor | ✓ | ||||||
| Kenethos and Cerion | ✓ | ||||||
| Brother | Eurydamas | ✓ | |||||
| Children | Antigone | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Death by Peleus | X | ✓ | ? | ✓ | ? | ? | |
Mythology
[edit]When Peleus fled away from Aegina because of the murder of his half-brother Phocus, he was received and purified by Eurytion at his Phthian court. In addition, the king also offered the son of Aeacus a third part of the kingdom to rule over and his daughter Antigone to marry.
In the times when the voyage of the Argonauts took place, Eurytion was known to let his hair grew until he was safe at home again.[11] Together with his son-in-law, he also goes to Calydon to answer the call from King Oeneus to kill the Calydonian Boar which ravaged the said country. There, along with the other hunters, they were hospitably entertained by the king for ten days and during the hunt, Peleus forcefully thrown a spear that missed the giant wild hog but inadvertently struck his father-in-law. Eurytion died in the woods caused by that deadly wound in his chest while Peleus then fled from Phthia to Iolcus, where he was purified by King Acastus.[12] Later on, the hero brought together many sheep and cattle and led them to Irus as blood money for the slaying of his son but Irus would not accept this price from Peleus and sent him away.[13]
Notes
[edit]- ^ gen.: Εὐρυτίωνος
- ^ Apollonius Rhodius, 1.74; Hyginus, Fabulae 14; Orphic Argonautica 179; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 175 with unknown source
- ^ Apollodorus, 1.8.2; Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.310
- ^ Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 175
- ^ Apollonius Rhodius, 1.74; Orphic Argonautica 179; Antoninus Liberalis, 38; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 175 with unknown source
- ^ a b Hyginus, Fabulae 14
- ^ Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 175 with Pherecydes as the source
- ^ Apollodorus, 1.8.2; Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 175 with Pherecydes as the source
- ^ as cited in Orphic Argonautica, 179 "There also came Eurytion son of Iros the Aktorian leaving rugged Opus"
- ^ Apollonius Rhodius, 1.74
- ^ Valerius Flaccus, 1.378
- ^ Apollodorus, 3.13.1-2; Antoninus Liberalis, 38
- ^ Antoninus Liberalis, 38
References
[edit]- Antoninus Liberalis, The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992). Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- 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.
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volume 286. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928. Online version at theio.com.
- Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonauticon. Otto Kramer. Leipzig. Teubner. 1913. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- The Orphic Argonautica, translated by Jason Colavito. © Copyright 2011. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- 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.