Eurysaces (

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 ...

: Εὐρυσάκης) in

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 ...

was the son of the

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

and the former-princess captive-slave girl

Tecmessa The name Tecmessa ( grc, Τέκμησσα, Tékmēssa) refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: * Tecmessa, daughter of Teleutas, King of Phrygia, or Teuthras, King of Teuthrania in Mysia, or Tethras or Teuthas. During the Troja ...

. He was venerated in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Eurysaces was named after his father's famous shield. In Sophocles' tragedy ''Ajax'', the protagonist hands the shield to his young son before committing suicide. Eurysaces was then taken to Ajax's native land, Salamis Island, and he soon became king there. When his older cousin

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

son of Patroclus and Alcippe became king of Pthia the two formed an alliance and became close friends. Eurysaces's uncle

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-bro ...

, founded the town of Salamis on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, and later attempted to return to the island, but he was repelled by Eurysaces. Teucer later established Galacia in Spain. Sophocles wrote a play titled ''Eurysaces'', but only one quotation from it survives.Thorburn, John E. ''The Facts on File Companion to Classical Drama''. Infobase Publishing, 2005. . Page 216

Note

Characters in Greek mythology {{Greek-myth-stub

See also

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