Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Lycurgus (;

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 p ...

: Λυκοῦργος ''Lykoûrgos'', ), also Lykurgos or Lykourgos, was a king of

Tegea Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal un ...

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

Family

Lycurgus was the son of

Aleus In Greek mythology, Aleus (or Aleos) ( grc, Ἀλεός) was the king of Arcadia, eponym of Alea, and founder of the cult of Athena Alea. He was the grandson of Arcas. His daughter Auge was the mother of the hero Telephus, by Heracles. Aleus' s ...

, the previous ruler of

, and Neaera, daughter of

Pereus In Greek mythology, Pereus ( Ancient Greek: Περέος) was an Arcadian prince as the son of King Elatus and Laodice, daughter of King Cinyras. He had four brothers namely, Stymphalus, Aepytus, Ischys and Cyllen. Pereus had a daughter, Neaer ...

, and thus, brother to the Argonauts

Amphidamas Amphidamas (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιδάμας) was the name of multiple people in Greek mythology: *Amphidamas, father of Pelagon, king of Phocis, who gave Cadmus the cow that was to guide him to Boeotia. *Amphidamas or Amphidamantes, fath ...

, Cepheus,

Auge In Greek mythology, Auge (; Ancient Greek: Αὐγή 'sunbeam, daylight, dawn') was the daughter of Aleus the king of Tegea in Arcadia, and the virgin priestess of Athena Alea. She was also the mother of the hero Telephus by Heracles. Auge had ...

and

Alcidice Alcidice (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκιδίκη) was, in Greek mythology, an Arcadian princess as the daughter of King Aleus. She married Salmoneus, king of Elis, and bore a daughter, Tyro. After her death Salmoneus married Sidero In Greek mythology, ...

. He married either Cleophyle,

Eurynome Eurynomê (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυνόμη, from , ''eurys'', "broad" and , ''nomos'', "pasture" or "law") is a name that refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: *Eurynome, pre-Olympian queen and wife of Ophion *Eurynome (Ocean ...

or Antinoe

Scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

Apollonius of Rhodes 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 ...

, ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason ...

'' 1.164 and fathered these sons: Ancaeus,

Epochus In Greek mythology, the name Epochus (Ancient Greek: ) may refer to: *Epochus, an Arcadian prince as son of King Lycurgus of Arcadia and Cleophyle or Eurynome or Antinoe, and thus the brother of Ancaeus, Amphidamas and Iasus. Epochus participa ...

, and

Iasius In Greek mythology, Iasus (; Ancient Greek: Ἴασος) or Iasius (; Ἰάσιος) was the name of several people: *Iasus (Iasius), one of the Dactyli or Curetes. *Iasus, king of Argos. *Iasus, son of Io *Iasius (Iasion), son of Eleuther an ...

Mythology

Lycurgus was notorious for killing, by ambushing him, a warrior called

Areithous In Greek mythology, the name Areithous (Ancient Greek: Ἀρηΐθοος) may refer to: * Areithous, King of Arne in Boeotia, and husband of , by whom he had a son Menesthius. He is called in the Iliad the "club-bearer" (''korynetes''), because ...

. He attacked the man unexpectedly in a narrow passage where Areithous' famous club was useless. Lycurgus took Areithous' armor as spoils and wore it himself, but handed it over to

Ereuthalion In Greek mythology, the name Ereuthalion (Ancient Greek: Ἐρευθαλίων) may refer to: *Ereuthalion, son of Criasus, founder and eponym of the city Ereuthalia. *Ereuthalion, an Arcadian who fought in the battle against the Pylians "benea ...

when he had grown old. According to

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

on the ''

'', Ereuthalion was also vanquished by Lycurgus, who laid an ambush against him and overcame him in the ensuing battle. The Arcadians celebrated a feast known as ''Moleia'' in commemoration of this mythical event (''mōlos'' being a word for "battle" according to the scholiast), and paid general honors to Lycurgus. Lycurgus outlived his sons and reached an extreme old age for Epochus fell ill and died while Ancaeus was wounded by the

Calydonian boar The Calydonian boar hunt is one of the great heroic adventures in Greek legend. It occurred in the generation prior to that of the Trojan War, and stands alongside the other great heroic adventure of that generation, the voyage of the Argonauts, ...

. On his death, he was succeeded by

Echemus In Greek mythology, Echemus (; grc, Ἔχεμος, ''Ekhemos'') was the Tegean king of Arcadia who succeeded Lycurgus. Family Echemus was the son of Aeropus, son of King Cepheus.Pausanias8.5.1/ref> He was married to Timandra, daughter of ...

, son of Aeropus, son of his brother Cepheus.Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 8.4.10 & 8.5.1

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''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.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

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 t ...

, ''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.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
{{Greek-myth-stub Princes in Greek mythology Mythological kings of Arcadia Kings in Greek mythology Arcadian characters in Greek mythology Tegea