In Greek mythology, King Cyzicus or Kyzikos (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: Κύζικος, ''Kúzikos'') was the ruler of the
Dolionians
In Greek mythology, the Doliones (Ancient Greek: Δολίονες) or Dolionians were the people living on the coast of the Propontis (northwestern Asia Minor), visited by the Argonauts. They were ruled by Cyzicus, son of Aeneus and Aenete.
My ...
, a tribe that inhabited the southern shore of the
Propontis
The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...
(the Sea of
Marmara). He gave his name to a city of the same name,
Cyzicus
Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...
, his capital.
Family
Cyzicus's parentage is given as
AeneusApollonius Rhodius
Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...
, 1.949; Valerius Flaccus'','' 3.1; Parthenius'', Love Romances 28.1'' by
Aenete (or Aenippe), daughter of
Eusorus In Greek mythology, Eusorus (Ancient Greek: Εύσωρος) was the father of Acamas,Homer, ''Iliad'' 6.8 AeneteApollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 1.949 Orphic Argonautica,'' 502 ' and in some accounts, of Cyzicus.
Mythology
Eusorus only app ...
; or else Eusorus is given as his father.
Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...
, ''Fabulae'
16
King Cyzicus is sometimes referred to as a
Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessa ...
migrant (hence his hospitality to the Argonauts, many of whom hailed from Thessaly, including
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
himself). The name Aeneus recalls the
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
city of
Aenus, although Aeneus is said to be the son of
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= ...
and
Stilbe Stilbe (; Ancient Greek: Στίλβη ''Stílbē'') in Greek mythology may refer to the following personages:
* Stilbe, mother of Callisto by Ceteus.
*Stilbe, a nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus and the Naiad Creusa. She bore Apollo twin so ...
, a daughter of the Thessalian River
Peneus
In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Ancient Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers (Potamoi), a child of Oceanus and Tethys.
Family
The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapit ...
. His wife was
Cleite
In Greek mythology, the name Clite or Cleite ( grc, Κλείτη means "renowned, famous") may refer to:
*Clite, daughter of Danaus and Memphis (mythology), Memphis, married and killed Cleitus (mythology), Cleitus, son of Aegyptus and Tyria (mytho ...
,
daughter of
Merops
MEROPS is an online database for peptidases (also known as proteases, proteinases and proteolytic enzymes) and their inhibitors. The classification scheme for peptidases was published by Rawlings & Barrett in 1993, and that for protein inhibitor ...
of
Percote
Percote or Perkote ( grc, Περκώτη) was a town or city of ancient Mysia on the southern (Asian) side of the Hellespont, to the northeast of Troy. Percote is mentioned a few times in Greek mythology, where it plays a very minor role each time. ...
, others say that she was
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
,
[Parthenius'', Love Romances'' 28.1] daughter of
Piasus In Greek mythology, Piasus (Ancient Greek: Πίασος), also known according to the Suda as Piasos the Thessalian, was the father of Larisa, wife of Cyzicus, king of the Doliones
In Greek mythology, the Doliones (Ancient Greek: Δολίονες) ...
.
Mythology
After the departure of the Argonauts in Lemnos, they landed in the island of the Doliones of whom Cyzicus was the king. He welcomed the
Argonauts
The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
on their journey to
Colchis
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia (country), Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians a ...
and received them with generous hospitality. But after their departure, a storm drove them back to the Cyzicene coast at night. With neither the Argonauts nor King Cyzicus recognizing one another, each mistook the other as an enemy and battle ensued. The Doliones thought they were Pelasgian army who constantly harassed them.
: The enemy have seized the harbour, our hold foes the Pelasgians have returned!” Men’s rest was broken; the god Pan had driven the doubting city distraught, Pan fulfilling the cruel commands of the Mygdonian Mother
.e. Cybele Pan lord of the woodlands and of war, whom from the daylight hours caverns shelter; about midnight in lonely places are seen that hairy flank and the soughing leafage on his fierce brow.
The Argonauts slew many of the Dolionians, among the rest was King Cyzicus who was himself killed either by Jason or
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
. The incident had been arranged by the gods
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...
,
Pan and
Bellona Bellona may refer to:
Places
*Bellona, Campania, a ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta, Italy
*Bellona Reef, a reef in New Caledonia
*Bellona Island, an island in Rennell and Bellona Province, Solomon Islands
Ships
* HMS ''Bellona'' (1760), a 74 ...
because Cybele wanted revenge against the king for killing one of her lions.
[Valerius Flaccus'','' 3.1] Valerius Flaccus recounts this account in the following passage:
: As Cyzicus upon his swift horse shook Dindymus where votaries revel with bloodstained arms, and wearied the woods, he was betrayed by his too great love of the chase; for with his javelin he slew a lion that was wont to bear its mistress
.e. Cybelethrough the cities of Phrygia and was now returning to the bridle. And now (Madman!) hath he hung from his doorposts the mane and the head of his victim, a spoil to bring sorrow to himself and shame upon the goddess. But she, nursing her great rage, beholds from the cymbal-clashing mountain the ship with its border of kingly shields, and devises against the hero deaths and horrors unheard of: how in the night to set allied hands at strife in unnatural war, how to enmesh the city in cruel error.
When day broke, the Argonauts realized their tragic mistake, and granted Cyzicus an elaborate burial.
[see Apollonius Rhodius, 1.1057-1077; ''Orphica Argonautica'' 571 ff.; Valerius Flaccus, 3.332 ff.]
: They
.e. Argonautslamented for three days and tore out their hair; they raised a mound over the grave, marched round it thrice in armour, performed funeral rites, and celebrated games in honour of the dead man. The mound was to be seen down to later days, and the people of Cyzicus continued to pour libations at it every year.
After the burial, the Argonauts handed over the kingdom to Cyzicus's sons,
then sailed away and touched at Mysia. King Cyzicus left behind his young bride Cleite, who hung herself after her husband's tragic death.
Notes
References
Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca Book 1.9.18''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. Includes Frazer's notes.
Translated by Seaton, R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912.
The Myths of Hyginus, translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies, no. 34. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
Translated by Edmonds, J M and Gaselee, S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916.
* Stephani, H., and A. C. Eschenbachii, ''
Orphic Argonautica
The ''Orphic Argonautica'' or ''Argonautica Orphica'' ( grc-gre, Ὀρφέως Ἀργοναυτικά) is a Greek epic poem dating from the 5th–6th centuries CE. It is narrated in the first person in the name of Orpheus and tells the story of ...
'' in ''Argonautica, Hymni Libellus de lapidibus et fragmenta cum notis'', Leipzig, Sumtibus Caspari Fritsch, 1764
Internet Archive
'
' Translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volume 286. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyzicus (Greek Mythology)
Kings in Greek mythology
Characters in the Argonautica
Anatolian characters in Greek mythology