Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Theoclymenus (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Θεοκλύμενος) was a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

from Argos. He is a character in the '' Odyssey'', in which he accompanies Telemachus from

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

back to Ithaca. In the ''Odyssey'', he foresees Odysseus' return to Ithaca and the death of Penelope's suitors, but he is not believed when he reveals these visions.

Family

Theoclymenus was the son of Polypheides and Aechme, daughter of Haemon, and brother of Harmonides. In some accounts, his parents were Thestor and possibly Polymele, and thus, the brother of Leucippe, Theonoe and Calchas.

Mythology

In the '' Odyssey'', he escaped from Argos after killing one of his relatives. He fled to

and sought refuge aboard the ship of Telemachus, who had come to inquire about the fate of his father,

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. Telemachus obliged, and Theoclymenus accompanied him back to Ithaca. There, Theoclymenus interpreted the auspices of the birds, predicting that Telemachus would become head of the royal house of Ithaca. He also prophesied that Odysseus was already in Ithaca, disguised and watching as events unfolded. When he told Penelope of these signs, she did not believe him. Later, at dinner, he had a vision of the death of the suitors, but they laughed at his predictions, not knowing they would be killed that night.

Theoclymenos of Egypt

Theoclymenos is also the name of the king of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, 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 attributed ninety-five plays to ...

' play '' Helen''. He is the son of Proteus, who he succeeds as kind, and the brother of the seer Theonoe.'' RE''
s.v. Theoklymenos (2)

Notes

References

* Gaius Julius Hyginus, ''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.
{{Authority control Mythological Greek seers Characters in the Odyssey Mythological Argives Messenian mythology Mythology of Argos, Peloponnese