Calchas (; grc, Κάλχας, ''Kalkhas'') is an
Argive
Argos (; el, Άργος ; grc, label=Ancient and Katharevousa, Ἄργος ) is a city in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Arg ...
mantis, or "
seer
In the United States, the efficiency of air conditioners is often rated by the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) which is defined by the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, a trade association, in its 2008 standard AHR ...
," dated to the Age of Legend, which is an aspect of
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 ...
. Calchas appears in the opening scenes of the ''Iliad'', which is believed to have been based on a war conducted by the Achaeans against the powerful city of
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
in the
Late Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
Calchas, a seer in the service of the army before Troy, is portrayed as a skilled augur, Greek ''ionópolos'' ('bird-savant'): "as an augur, Calchas had no rival in the camp."
He received knowledge of the past, present, and future from 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= ...
. He had other mantic skills as well:
interpreting the entrails of the enemy during the tide of battle. His mantosune, as it is called in the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'', is the hereditary occupation of his family, which accounts for the most credible
etymology
Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...
of his name: “the dark one” in the sense of “ponderer,” based on the resemblance of pondering to melancholy, or being “blue.” Calchas has a long literary history after Homer. His appearance in the ''Iliad'' is no sort of “first” except for the chronological sequence of literature. In the legendary time of the ''Iliad'', seers and divination are already long-standing.
Description
Calchas was described by the chronicler
Malalas
John Malalas ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Malálas''; – 578) was a Byzantine chronicler from Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey).
Life
Malalas was of Syrian descent, and he was a native speaker of Syriac who learned how to write in Greek later in ...
in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "short, white, all grey, including the beard, hairy, a very fine seer and omen-reader".
Family
Calchas was the son of
Polymele
In Greek mythology, the name Polymela or Polymele (Ancient Greek: Πολυμήλη "many songs", derived from ''polys'', "many" and ''melos'' "song") may refer to the following figures:
* Polymele, daughter of Autolycus and one of the possible m ...
and
Thestor
''Thestor'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. The species are Afrotropical.
Species
*''Thestor barbatus'' Henning & Henning, 1997 – bearded skolly
*''Thestor basutus'' (Wallengren, 1857) – Basuto skolly, Basuto magpie
*''T ...
; grandson of the seer
Idmon
In Greek mythology, Idmon (Ancient Greek: Ἴδμων means "having knowledge of" or "the knowing") may refer to the following individuals:
*Idmon, one of the fifty sons of Aegyptus, who married and was killed by the Danaid Pylarge.
* Idmon, ...
; and brother of
Leucippe In Greek mythology, Leucippe ( grc, Λευκίππη means 'white horse') is the name of the following individuals:
*Leucippe, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oceanus and his sister-spouse Tethys. Leucippe, along wi ...
,
Theonoe
In Greek mythology, Theonoe (Ancient Greek: Θεονόη means "divine wisdom" from ''theós'' 'god' and ''nóos'' or ''noûs'' 'mind') was a name that may refer to the following women:
* Theonoe, daughter of the prophet Thestor, sister to Theoc ...
, and
Theoclymenus
In Greek mythology, Theoclymenus (; Ancient Greek: Θεοκλύμενος) was a prophet from Argos.
Family
Theoclymenus was the son of Polypheides and Aechme, daughter of Haemon, and brother of Harmonides. In some accounts, his parents were ...
Career
It was Calchas who
prophesied
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pret ...
that in order to gain a favourable wind to deploy the Greek ships mustered in
Aulis on their way to
Troy
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...
,
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
would need to sacrifice his daughter,
Iphigeneia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
, to appease
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 ...
, whom Agamemnon had offended. The episode was related at length in the lost ''
Cypria
The ''Cypria'' (; grc-gre, Κύπρια ''Kúpria''; Latin: ''Cypria'') is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature, which has been attributed to Stasinus and was quite well known in classical antiquity and fixed in a received text, but which ...
'', of the
Epic Cycle. He also states that Troy will be sacked on the tenth year of the war.
In Sophocles' ''
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
'', Calchas delivers a prophecy to
Teucer
In Greek mythology, Teucer (), also Teucrus, Teucros or Teucris ( grc, Τεῦκρος, Teûkros), was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-bro ...
suggesting that the protagonist will die if he leaves his tent before the day is out.
''Iliad''
In the ''Iliad'', Calchas is cast as the
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
of divine truth. His most powerful skeptic is
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
himself. Before the events of the ''Iliad'', at the beginning of the expedition, Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter
Iphigenia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; grc, Ἰφιγένεια, , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting ...
to receive favorable sailing winds. At the beginning of the ''Iliad'' Calchas delivers another blow to him.
in open assembly Calchas prophesied that the captive
Chryseis, a spoil of war awarded to Agamemnon, must be returned to her father
Chryses
In Greek mythology, Chryses (; Greek, Χρύσης ''Khrúsēs'', meaning "golden") was a Trojan priest of Apollo at Chryse, near the city of Troy.
Family
According to a tradition mentioned by Eustathius of Thessalonica, Chryses and Briseus ...
in order to propitiate
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= ...
into lifting the plague he sent as punishment for Agamemnon's disrespect of Chryses, Apollo's priest. Agamemnon exploded in anger and called the prophet a "visionary of hell" (Fitzgerald translation) and accused Calchas of rendering unfair prophecies. Fearing Agamemnon, Calchas had already secured a champion in Achilles, who spoke against Agamemnon in heated terms in assembly. Agamemnon grudgingly accepted the edict of Apollo (supported by the Assembly) that he give up his prize, but, as an insult to Achilles, threatens to take Achilles’ own female prize as recompense. There follows "the wrath of Achilles," part righteous anger, part galling resentment over the unjustified overreaching of Agamemnon, part love for his war bride. This dispute is a central focus of the epic.
Later in the story,
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
assumes the form of Calchas in order to rouse and empower the Greek forces while
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
is not observing the battle.
''Posthomerica''
Calchas also plays a role in
Quintus of Smyrna's ''
Posthomerica
The ''Posthomerica'' ( grc-gre, τὰ μεθ᾿ Ὅμηρον, translit. ''tà meth᾿ Hómēron''; lit. "Things After Homer") is an epic poem in Greek hexameter verse by Quintus of Smyrna. Probably written in the 3rd century AD, it tells the sto ...
''. Calchas said that if they were brief, they could convince Achilles to fight. It is he rather than
Helenus
In Greek mythology, Helenus (; grc, Ἕλενος, ''Helenos'', la, Helenus) was a gentle and clever seer. He was also a Trojan prince as the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and the twin brother of the prophetess Cassandra. He was al ...
(as suggested in Sophocles' ''
Philoctetes
Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stress (linguistics), stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea (Magnes ...
'') that predicts that Troy will only fall once the Argives are able to recruit Philoctetes. It is by his advice that they halt the battle, even though
Neoptolemus
In Greek mythology, Neoptolemus (; ), also called Pyrrhus (; ), was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia, and the brother of Oneiros. He became the mythical progenitor of the ruling dynasty of the Molossians of ancient Epi ...
is slaughtering the Trojans. He also tells the Argives that the city is more easily taken by strategy than by force. He endorses
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
' suggestion that the
Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...
will effectively infiltrate the Trojans. He also foresees that
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
will survive the battle and found the city, and tells the Argives that they will not kill him. He did not join the Argives when they boarded the ships, as he foresaw the impending doom of the Kapherean Rocks.
Death
Calchas died of shame at
Colophon in Asia Minor shortly after the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
(as told in the Cyclic ''
Nostoi
The ''Nostoi'' ( el, Νόστοι, ''Nostoi'', "Returns"), also known as ''Returns'' or ''Returns of the Greeks'', is a lost Epic poetry, epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the ent ...
'' and ''
Melampodia __notoc__
The "Melampodia" ( grc, Μελαμποδία) is a now fragmentary Greek epic poem that was attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Its title is derived from the name of the great seer Melampus but must have included myths concerning other ...
''): the prophet
Mopsus
Mopsus (; Ancient Greek: Μόψος, ''Mopsos'') was the name of one of two famous seers in Greek mythology; his rival being Calchas. A historical or legendary ''Mopsos'' or ''Mukšuš'' may have been the founder of a house in power at widespread ...
beat him in a contest of soothsaying, although
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
placed an oracle of Calchas on
Monte Gargano in
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...
.
It is also said that Calchas
died of laughter when he thought another seer had incorrectly predicted his death. This seer had foretold Calchas would never drink from the wine produced from vines he had planted himself; Calchas made the wine, but holding the cup he died of laughter, before he could inform them they had drunk it the previous night.
Maurus Servius Honoratus
Servius was a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian. He earned a contemporary reputation as the most learned man of his generation in Italy; he authored a set of commentaries on the works of Virgil. These works, ''In tria Vir ...
, ''Commentary on the Eclogues of Vergil'' 6.72
In medieval and later versions of the myth, Calchas is portrayed as a Trojan defector and the father of Chryseis, now called
Cressida
Cressida (; also Criseida, Cresseid or Criseyde) is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Calchas, a Greek seer. She falls in love with Troilus, ...
.
Calchas is a character in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
Troilus and Cressida
''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.
At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...
''.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calchas
Achaean Leaders
Mythological Greek seers
Metamorphoses characters
Argive characters in Greek mythology
Characters in Greek mythology