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 ...

, Oeagrus ( grc-gre, Οἴαγρος, Oíagros, of the wild sorb-apple) was a king of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

Biography

Kingdom

There are various versions as to where Oeagrus' domain was actually situated. In one version, he ruled over the

Edoni The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') ( el, Ἠδωνιοί) were a Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Ax ...

an kingdom in the region of

Mygdonia Mygdonia (; el, Μυγδονία / Μygdonia) was an ancient territory, part of Ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ...

. He is also connected with Pieria, further west, or to the vicinity of the River Hebrus to the east, the latter was said to be called 'Oeagria', in his honor.

Family

In the version that places Oeagrus in Pieria, his father is given as King Pierus and the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label= Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...

Methone. He was described as "a Thracian wine-god, who was himself descended from

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geograp ...

." According to '' Suda'', Oiagros was in the fifth generation after Atlas, by Alkyone, one of his daughters. This can be explained by the following genealogy: (1) Atlas by Pleione — (2) Alcyone by

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 ...

— (3) Aethusa by Apollo — (4) Linus or

Eleuther In Greek mythology, the name Eleuther (Ancient Greek: Ἑλευθήρ) may refer to: *Eleuther, one of the Curetes, was said to have been the eponym of the towns Eleutherae and Eleuthernae in Crete. *Eleuther, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 ...

— (5) Pierus by Methone — Oeager. This was supported by the order of genealogy according to the historian Charax which as follows: Aethuse the Thracian was the mother of Linus, the father of Pierus, the father of Oeagrus. In the account that places him in

Edonia Edonis or Edonida ( grc, Ἠδωνίς, Ἠδωνίδα), also transliterated as Edonia, was an ancient region of Thrace which later became a district of Macedon. Its name is derived from the ancient Thracians, Thracian inhabitants of the region, ...

he is said to be the son of Charops, an adherent of the god

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

; Charops was invited by Dionysus to rule over the Edones after the violent death of their king

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

. Oeagrus has also sometimes been called the son of the god Ares, who was associated with Thrace. Oeagrus and the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί ...

or Polymnia were the parents of

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with J ...

and Linus. He married Calliope close to

Pimpleia Pimpleia (Ancient Greek: Πίμπλεια) was a city in Pieria in Ancient Greece, located near Dion and ancient Leivithra at Mount Olympus. Pimpleia is described as a "κώμη" ("quarter, suburb") of Dion by Strabo. The location of Pimpleia i ...

, Olympus. The sisters of Orpheus are called Oeagrides, in the sense of the Muses. The father of Orpheus was sometimes given as

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 ...

. Oeagrus was also mentioned as the father of

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

Mythology

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Theb ...

' '' Dionysiaca,'' the author states that Oeagrus quitted his city of Pimpleia on the Bistonian plain and followed the enterprise of

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

against the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

people. He left his newly-born son Orpheus in the charge of his consort Calliopeia. Oeagrus was also described as a singer and harpist, and a skilled warrior during this adventures.Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca'' 19.70, 19.100, 19.112, 22.168 & 22.188

Honours

Oeagrus Beach in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after the mythical king.

References

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Sources

*Kathleen Freeman. ''The Pre-Socratic Philosophers''. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1946. Children of Ares Mythological kings of Thrace Kings in Greek mythology Thracian characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Thraco-Macedonian mythology