In Greek mythology, Euphemus ( grc, Εὔφημος, ''Eὔphēmos'', "reputable") was counted among the Calydonian hunters and 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'', ...
, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene.
Family
Euphemus was a son of Poseidon, granted by his father the power to walk on water. His mother is variously named: (1) Europe, daughter of the giant Tityos; (2) Doris (Oris), (3) Mecionice, daughter of either Eurotas or OrionTzetzes, ''Chiliades'' 2.43 or (4) lastly, Macionassa. In some accounts he is said to have been married to
Laonome
In Greek mythology, the name Laonome (Ancient Greek: 'law of the people' derived from ''laos "''people" and ''nomos'', "law") may refer to:
*Laonome, daughter of Guneus, possible spouse of Alcaeus and mother of Amphitryon, Anaxo and Perimede. S ...
Megalai Ehoiai The ''Megalai Ehoiai'' ( grc, Μεγάλαι Ἠοῖαι, ), or ''Great Ehoiai'', is a fragmentary Greek epic poem that was popularly, though not universally, attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Like the more widely read Hesiodic ''Catalogue o ...
'',
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
, ''
Megalai Ehoiai The ''Megalai Ehoiai'' ( grc, Μεγάλαι Ἠοῖαι, ), or ''Great Ehoiai'', is a fragmentary Greek epic poem that was popularly, though not universally, attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Like the more widely read Hesiodic ''Catalogue o ...
'' 253 in scholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 4.35 but his later residence was Taenarum in
Laconia
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...
.Apollonius Rhodius, 1.179; ''Orphic Argonautica'' 205; Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 14; Valerius Flaccus, 1.365 Euphemus joined the voyage of the Argonauts, and served the crew as helmsman. He let a dove fly between the
Symplegades
The Symplegades (; el, Συμπληγάδες, ''Symplēgádes'') or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together whenever a vessel went through. They ...
to see if the ship would be able to pass as well. By a
Lemnian
The Lemnian language was spoken on the island of Lemnos, Greece, in the second half of the 6th century BC. It is mainly attested by an inscription found on a funerary stele, termed the Lemnos stele, discovered in 1885 near Kaminia. Fragments of ...
woman ( Malicha, Malache, or Lamache) he became the father of Leucophanes.
Euphemus was mythologically linked to the Greek colonization of Libya and foundation of Cyrene. In Pindar's Pythian Ode 4, the myth of him as the ancestor of the colonizers is recounted in the form of a prophecy by Medea, and runs as follows. When the Argonauts stop by the lake Tritonis in Libya, they encounter Eurypylus, a son of Poseidon, who offers them a clod of earth as a sign of hospitality. Euphemus takes the clod with instructions to throw it on the ground beside the entrance to the Underworld at Taenarum by which his descendants in the fourth generation would then rule over Libya. The clod is accidentally washed overboard and carried to the island Thera, and Libya is colonized from that island by Battus of Thera, an alleged distant descendant of Euphemus (by 17 generations), who founds Cyrene.Emily Kearns, "Euphemus", in Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth (editors), ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', Oxford University Press 2009.Judith Maitland, "Poseidon, Walls, and Narrative Complexity in the Homeric Iliad", ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol 49, No 1 (1999), pp 1–13 at p 13, accessed 23 November 2011.
The ''Argonautica'' by Apollonius Rhodius appears to follow a different version of the same myth: in the poem, when the Argonauts arrive near Lake Tritonis, Euphemus accepts the clod of earth from
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
who first introduces himself as Eurypylus but later reveals his true divine identity. Later, Euphemus has a dream of the clod producing drops of milk and then changing into a woman; in his dream, he has sex with the woman, and at the same time cries over her as if she were nursed by him; she then tells him that she is a daughter of
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
and Libya and the nurse of future children of Euphemus, and instructs him to entrust her to the care of the Nereids, promising that she would return in the future to provide a home for Euphemus' children. Euphemus consults Jason about this dream and, following his advice, throws the clod in the sea, whereupon it transforms into the island
Calliste Calliste can refer to the following entries:
* Calliste (mythology), a character in Greek mythology
* Jason Calliste
Jason Calliste (born January 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Moncton Magic of the National Basket ...
( Thera). The island is later colonized by the descendants of Euphemus who had previously been expelled from Lemnos and failed to find refuge in Sparta.
Euphemus was portrayed on the chest of Cypselus as the winner of the chariot race at the funeral games of Pelias.Pausanias, 5.17.9
In popular culture
In the 1963
motion picture
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
stuntman
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
Doug Robinson. The film relegates him to being only a minor character recognized as being a champion swimmer. In contrast to his mythology, Euphemus is killed by the film's villain Acastus who betrayed the Argonauts.
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 ...
John Tzetzes
John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century.
He was able to p ...