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 ...

, Bucolus (;

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 ...

: Βουκόλος means "cow boy" or "herdsman" from βους ''vous'' "ox" and κελεύω ''kelevein'' "command") is the name of four men: * Bucolus, son of

Hippocoon In Greek mythology, the name Hippocoön (; , ''Hippokóōn'') refers to several characters: *Hippocoon, in one account, father of Neleus, who is otherwise called son of Cretheus or Poseidon. * Hippocoon, a Spartan king, father of Enarephoros an ...

, king of

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

. * Bucolus, the

Thespian Thespian may refer to: * A citizen of the Ancient Greek city of Thespiae * An actor or actress ** Thespis, the first credited actor * A member of the International Thespian Society The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society ...

son of

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

and Marse, daughter of King

Thespius In Greek mythology, Thespius (; Ancient Greek: Θέσπιος ''Théspios'') or Thestius (; Ancient Greek: Θέστιος) was a legendary founder and king of Thespiae, Boeotia. His life account is considered part of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

Thespiae Thespiae ( ; ) was an ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It sits at the foot of Mount Helicon and near right bank of the Thespius River (modern name Kanavari River). Thespiae was a Boeotian state sporadically involved in the military fe ...

. Bucolus and his 49 half-brothers were born of Thespius' daughters who were impregnated by Heracles in one night, for a week or in the course of 50 days while hunting for the

Cithaeronian lion The Lion of Cithaeron was a lion in Greek mythology which harassed the lands of king Amphitryon and king Thespius or of king Megareus of Onchestus, Megareus. Some myths say that it was killed by Heracles, while others say it was slain by Alcathous ...

. Later on, the hero sent a message to Thespius to keep seven of these sons and send three of them in Thebes while the remaining forty, joined by

Iolaus In Greek mythology, Iolaus (; Ancient Greek: Ἰόλαος ''Iólāos'') was a Theban divine hero. He was famed for being Heracles' charioteer and squire, and for helping with some of his Labors, as well as for being one of the Argonauts. Fa ...

, were dispatched to the island of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

to found a colony. * Bucolus, father of Sphelus, and grandfather of

Iasus 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 ...

, captain of the

Athenians Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

at the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. Iasus was killed by

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas ( , ; from ) was a Troy, Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy ...

. *Bucolus, a nickname of

Daphnis In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; , from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a legendary Sicilian cowherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. According to Diodorus the Sicilian (1st century BC), Daphnis was born in the Heraean Mountai ...

. * Bucolus, son of Colonus and brother to

Echemus In Greek mythology, Echemus (; , ''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 Leda and Tynda ...

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

and Ochne. He and his brothers killed their cousin

Eunostus In Greek mythology, Eunostus or Eunostos was a goddess whose image was set up in mills, and who was believed to keep watch over the just weight of flour. Promylaia ("the one that stands before/protects the mill") was another name for a goddess o ...

when Ochne falsely accused him of raping her, and were subsequently banished from the land by their father.

Namesakes

* Saint Bucolus, one of the first Christian bishops of ancient

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, disciple of St

John the Theologian John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian; ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 1:9 states that John was on Patmos, an Aegean island off the coast of Ro ...

.St Bucolus, Bishop of Smyrna
/ref> *''

Bucolus In Greek mythology, Bucolus (; Ancient Greek: Βουκόλος means "cow boy" or "herdsman" from βους ''vous'' "ox" and κελεύω ''kelevein'' "command") is the name of four men: * Bucolus, son of Hippocoon, king of Sparta. * Bucolus, the ...

'' is a genus of

ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

beetles.

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''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
*

Athenaeus of Naucratis Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD. The ''Suda'' says on ...

, ''

The Deipnosophists The ''Deipnosophistae'' (, ''Deipnosophistaí'', lit. , where ''sophists'' may be translated more loosely as ) is a work written in Ancient Greek by Athenaeus of Naucratis. It is a long work of Greek literature, literary, Ancient history, h ...

or Banquet of the Learned.'' London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Athenaeus of Naucratis, ''Deipnosophistae''. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, '' The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of Greek and Ancient History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Qajar dynasty, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Feli ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

. 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
*

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient 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. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, ''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
*

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Quaestiones Graecae'' in ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' (Latin for "Morals", "Customs" or "Mores"; , ''Ethiká'') is a set of essays ascribed to the 1st-century scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea. The eclectic collection contains 78 essays and transcribed speeches. They provide insigh ...

'', with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936
Online text available at Perseus.tufts Project.
* Tzetzes, John, ''Book of Histories,'' Book II-IV translated by Gary Berkowitz from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826
Online version at theio.com
{{Greek myth index Princes in Greek mythology Children of Heracles Heracleidae Laconian mythology Mythological Boeotians