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 ...

, Epopeus (;

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 ...

: Ἐπωπεύς) was the 17th king of

Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...

, with an archaic bird-name that linked him to ''epops'' (ἔποψ), the

hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...

, the "watcher". A fragment of

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety ...

' ''Aitia'' ("Origins") appears to ask, "Why, at Sicyon, is it the hoopoe, and not the usual splendid ravens, that is the bird of good omen?"

Etymology

Epopeus name means 'all-seer', from ''epopao'', 'to look out', 'observe', in turn from ''epi'', 'over' and ''ops'', 'eye'. A suitable for one who is to be a king and oversee his people.

Family

Epopeus was the son of

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 ...

either by princess

Canace In Greek mythology, Canace (; Ancient Greek: Κανάκη means "‘barking") was a Thessalian princess as daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was sometimes referrred as Aeolis. Family Canace was the sister ...

, daughter of King

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

Thessaly 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, Thes ...

, or by the

Pleiad The Pleiades (; grc-gre, Πλειάδες, Ancient Greek pronunciation: ), were the seven sister-nymphs, companions of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Together with their seven sisters, the Hyades, they were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, ...

Alcyone In Greek mythology, Alcyone or Halcyone (; grc, Ἀλκυόνη, Alkyónē derived from grc, ἀλκυών, alkyṓn, kingfisher, label=none) and Ceyx (; grc, Κήϋξ, Kḗÿx) were a wife and husband who incurred the wrath of the god Zeus ...

. Yet, in some accounts, his father was

Aloeus Aloeus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλωεύς probably derived from ἀλοάω ''aloaō'' "to thresh, to tread" as well as "to crush, to smash") can indicate one of the two characters in Greek mythology: *Aloeus or Haloeus, a Thessalian prince as the ...

, son of

Helius In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

. Epopeus married the Theban princess Antiope, daughter of King

Nycteus In Greek mythology, Nycteus (; el, Νυκτεύς, Nukteús, nocturnal) was a king of Thebes. His rule began after the death of Polydorus, and ended when he was succeeded by his brother Lycus. Family Nycteus and his brother Lycus were the son ...

, by whom he had children:

Oenope In Greek mythology, Oenope or Oinope (Ancient Greek: Οινόπη) was a Sicyonian princess as daughter of King EpopeusHyginus, ''Fabulae'' 157 and possibly Antiope of Thebes, thus sister to King Marathon of Corinth. She was the mother of King ...

and

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

Mythology

Reign

Epopeus migrating from his homeland in

seized the kingdom of Sicyon from Lamedon, the supposed successor of the latter's elder brother King Corax. He reigned in his new home for a period of 35 years.

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...

, ''Chronographia'
63
/ref> Epopeus was the most memorable king at Sicyon and features in

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

' ''Antiope''. He founded a sanctuary of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

on the Sicyonian

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

where he performed victory rites, celebrating his defeat of Theban intruders. Athena caused olive oil to flow before the shrine. At Titane in Sicyonia,

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC *Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...

saw an altar, in front of it a

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...

raised to the hero Epopeus, and, near to the barrow-tomb, the " Gods of Aversion"—the ''apotropai''—"before whom are performed the ceremonies which the Hellenes observe for the averting of evils".

War with Thebes

In the

etiological myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have stor ...

that accounted for the origin of rituals propitiating the ''

daimon Daimon or Daemon ( Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and philosophy. The wor ...

'' of Epopeus, it was told that

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� ...

impregnated the daughter of

, Antiope, who fled in shame to Epopeus, king of Sicyon, abandoning her children,

Amphion and Zethus Amphion ( ()) and Zethus (; Ζῆθος ''Zēthos'') were, in ancient Greek mythology, the twin sons of Zeus (or Theobus) by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed ...

. They were

exposed Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

Mount Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia in the north and Attica in the south. It is mai ...

, but, in a familiar

mytheme In structuralism-influenced studies of mythology, a mytheme is a fundamental generic unit of narrative structure (typically involving a relationship between a character, an event, and a theme) from which myths are thought to be constructed—a mi ...

, were found and brought up by a shepherd. Unable to retrieve his daughter, Nycteus made war with Epopeus but was wounded by the latter and carried back to Thebes. Before Nycteus died, he sent his brother Lycus to take Antiope. This time Epopeus was killed in battle by Lycus, or he died of a neglected wound that he received when his army defeated Nycteus. After Epopeus's death, Lamedon became the king of Sicyon and gave up Antiope to her uncle Lycus who then gave her as a slave to his own wife,

Dirce Dirce (; , , modern Greek , meaning "double" or "cleft") was a queen of Thebes as the wife of Lycus in Greek mythology. Family Dirce was a daughter of the river-gods Achelous or Ismenus, or of Helios. Mythology After Zeus impregnated Dir ...

.Pausanias, 2.1.1 & 2.6.1–3

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, ''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
*

Gaius Julius 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 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.
*

, ''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
Children of Poseidon Family of Canace Mythological kings of Sicyon Kings in Greek mythology Sicyonian characters in Greek mythology Thessalian characters in Greek mythology Theban mythology