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 ...

, Lycus ( ; ) was the son of King

Lycus Lycus (Lykos, Lycos, ) may refer to: Mythology * Lycus (mythology), the name of numerous people in Greek mythology, including ** Lycus (brother of Nycteus), a ruler of the ancient city of Ancient Thebes ** Lycus (descendant of Lycus), son of Ly ...

of Thebes, the brother of

Nycteus In Greek mythology, Nycteus (; ) was a king of Thebes. His rule began after the death of Polydorus, and ended when he was succeeded by his brother Lycus. Family Nycteus and his brother Lycus were the sons of either Chthonius, one of the Spar ...

. He appeared in Euripides's ''

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 ...

''.

Genealogy

Mythology

Originally from

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

, Lycus seized power in Ancient Thebes (

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...

) by killing King Creon who at the time was regent for the son of

Eteocles In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the ...

Laodamas Laodamas (; ) refers to five different people in Greek mythology. * Laodamas, son of Eteocles, inherited Thebes from his father. Pausanias, 9.5.13 In one version of the myth (different from the one recounted in Sophocles' ''Antigone''), he was re ...

. Lycus mistreated Creon's family, throwing them out of their house and depriving them food and clothing. However, Creon was the father-in-law of the hero

, who returned unexpectedly to Thebes and slew Lycus. Laodamas succeeded him as king.Tripp, Edward. ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology''. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, Company, 1834, p. 352.

Notes

References

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 ...

, ''

'', translated by E. P. Coleridge in ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Volume 1. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 2''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). . Theban kings Kings in Greek mythology Mythological Thebans {{greek-myth-royal-stub