Agraeus ( el, Ἀγραῖος, ''Agraios'') was the name of a number of personages from ancient myth, but was primarily known as an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, which meant "the hunter". After Apollo had killed the

Lion of Cithaeron The Lion of Cithaeron was a lion in Greek mythology which was harassing the lands of king Amphitryon and king Thespius or of king Megareus. According to the ''Suda'', it was also called Thespian lion and ravine lion ( grc, Χαραδραῖος λ ...

, a temple was erected to him by

Alcathous, son of Pelops Alcathous (; grc, Ἀλκάθοος) was in Greek mythology the son of Pelops and Hippodamia of Pisa, Hippodamia, and brother of Atreus and Thyestes. He first married Pyrgo (mythology), Pyrgo and afterwards Euaechme, and was the father of Ischepo ...

, at

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...

under the name of Apollo Agraeus (some accounts report that Alcathous himself killed the lion). The epithet was also sometimes used, in the feminine form ''Agraea'' (or ''Agraia''), for the goddess

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

, which was synonymous with her epithet

Agrotera Agrotera ( Gr. , "the huntress") was an epithet of the Greek goddess Artemis, the most important goddess to Attic hunters. At Agrae on the Ilissos, where she was believed to have first hunted after her arrival from Delos, Artemis Agrotera had ...

. There is also evidence, attested to by

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...

, that "Agraeus" was a minor god-figure in the mythology of

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

who invented hunting. There was also a Heraclid named Agraeus, the son of

Temenus In Greek mythology, Temenus ( el, Τήμενος, ''Tḗmenos'') was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus. Temenus was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the ...

, and youngest brother of

Hyrnetho In Greek mythology, Hyrnetho (Ancient Greek: Ὑρνηθώ) was a daughter of Temenus, and the wife of Deiphontes, by whom she became mother of Antimenes, Xanthippus, Argeius, and Orsobia. Temenus favored his daughter Hyrnetho and her husband Deiph ...

(Ὑρνηθώ), wife of Deiphontes (Δηιφόντης). He was the only one of Hyrnetho's four brothers who refused to participate in the plot to break up her marriage to Deiphontes. According to Justinus, Agraeus was also the name of a son of

Aristaeus A minor god in Greek mythology, attested mainly by Athenian writers, Aristaeus (; ''Aristaios'' (Aristaîos); lit. “Most Excellent, Most Useful”), was the culture hero credited with the discovery of many useful arts, including bee-keeping; ...

(who was himself sometimes identified as "Agraeus"), the mythological founder of Cyrene. Justinus, ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' "Philippic histories" '' xiii. 7

References

{{Authority control Epithets of Apollo Heracleidae