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 of ...

, Leitus (;

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 ...

: Λήϊτος ''Leϊtos'') was a leader of the

Boeotians Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its la ...

and admiral of 12 ships which sailed against

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...

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 Gramma ...

, ''Fabulae'' 97

Family

Leitus was the son of

Alector Alector (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλέκτωρ) refers to more than one person in classical mythology and history: *Alector, son of Magnes and Meliboea, eponyms of Magnesia and the town of Meliboea respectively. *Alector, the Boeotian father of Leit ...

( Alectryon) and Polybule or of

Lacritus Lacritus ( grc, Λάκριτος) was a sophist, and native of Phaselis, known to us chiefly from the speech of Demosthenes against him, and for having been the tutor of Archias of Thurii. The subject of the speech entails a man named Androcles, ...

and

Cleobule In Greek mythology, the name Cleobule or Cleoboule (Ancient Greek: Κλεοβούλη, ''Kleoboúlē'') or Cleobula refers to: *Cleobule, daughter of Aeolus or Aeopolus, one of the possible mothers of Myrtilus by Hermes. *Cleobule, wife of Aleus ...

. He was the brother of Clonius, and probably the half-sibling of other Boeotian leaders,

Arcesilaus Arcesilaus (; grc-gre, Ἀρκεσίλαος; 316/5–241/0 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic philosopher. He was the founder of Academic Skepticism and what is variously called the Second or Middle or New Academy – the phase of the Platonic Aca ...

and

Prothoenor In Greek mythology, Prothoenor (Ancient Greek: Προθοήνωρ) was one of the Greek leaders in the Trojan War, from Thespiae in Boeotia, son of Areilycus ( Archilycus) and Theobule, brother of Arcesilaus; he commanded eight ships. In one acc ...

. In some accounts, Leitus was described as an earth-born and thus a son of

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthe ...

(Earth).

Mythology

Leitus also sailed with 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 afterwards, as one of the

suitors of Helen In Greek mythology, the Suitors of Helen are those who came from many kingdoms of Greece to compete for the hand of the Spartan princess Helen, daughter of Zeus and Leda. Mythology Selection of the husband When it was time for Helen to marry, ...

, fought in the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ha ...

, where he killed 20 enemies, including

Phylacus In Greek mythology, Phylacus (; Ancient Greek: Φύλακος means "guardian") was the name of the following figures: * Phylacus, founder of the city of Phylace, Thessaly. Eustathius on Homer, p. 323 He was the son of Deioneus and Diomede, husb ...

. Leitus was one of the seven

Achaean leaders In Greek mythology, the Achaean Leaders were those who led the expedition to Troy to retrieve the abducted Helen, wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta. Most of the leaders were bound by the Oath of Tyndareus who made the Suitors of Helen swear that ...

(others being

Teucer In Greek mythology, Teucer (), also Teucrus, Teucros or Teucris ( grc, Τεῦκρος, Teûkros), was the son of King Telamon of Salamis Island and his second wife Hesione, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy. He fought alongside his half-brot ...

, Thoas, Meriones,

Antilochus In Greek mythology, Antilochus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντίλοχος ''Antílokhos'') was a prince of Pylos and one of the Achaeans in the Trojan War. Family Antilochus was the son of King Nestor either by Anaxibia or Eurydice. He was the bro ...

Peneleos In Greek mythology, Peneleos ( grc, Πηνελέως ''Pēneléōs'') or, less commonly, Peneleus ( ''Pēnéleos''), son of Hippalcimus (Hippalmus) and Asterope, was an Achaean soldier in the Trojan War. Mythology Before the war began he was ...

and Deipyrus) in front of whom

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 ...

appeared during the Trojans' attack on the Achaean ships, urging them to fight back instead of acting like cowards. He was wounded by

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

on the hand at the wrist, but in the end, he was the only Boeotian leader to safely return home after the Trojan War. He also brought back the remains of

, another Boeotian chieftain, and buried them near the city of Lebadea. His own tomb was at

Plataeae Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...

.Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio'' 9.4.3

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. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...

, ''The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann_(publisher), Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

, ''The Plays of Euripides'', translated by E. P. Coleridge. Volume II. London. George Bell and Sons. 1891
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

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 Gramma ...

, ''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.
*

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 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, ''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
* Tzetzes, John, ''Allegories of the Iliad'' translated by Goldwyn, Adam J. and Kokkini, Dimitra. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2015. Ancient Greek military personnel Argonauts Achaean Leaders {{Greek-myth-stub Boeotian characters in Greek mythology