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 o ...

, Podalirius or Podaleirius or Podaleirios ( grc, Ποδαλείριος) was a son of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represen ...

Description

In the account of Dares the Phrygian, Podalirius was illustrated as ". . .sturdy, strong, haughty, and moody."

Mythology

Trojan war

With Machaon, his brother, he led thirty ships from

Tricca Tricca or Trikka ( grc, Τρίκκη or Τρίκκα) was a city and polis (city-state) of ancient Thessaly in the district Histiaeotis, standing upon the left bank of the Peneius, and near a small stream called Lethaeus. This city is said to ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

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 ...

on the side of the Greeks. Like Machaon, he was a legendary healer. He healed

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonassa ...

, holder of the bow and arrows of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

required to end the war. He was one of those who entered the

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

. Alongside Amphilochus,

Calchas Calchas (; grc, Κάλχας, ''Kalkhas'') is an Argive mantis, or " seer," dated to the Age of Legend, which is an aspect of Greek mythology. Calchas appears in the opening scenes of the ''Iliad'', which is believed to have been based on a wa ...

, Leonteus and

Polypoetes In Greek mythology, Polypoetes (; grc, Πολυποίτης, ''Polupoitēs'') was a name attributed to the following individuals: *Polypoetes, the Aetolian son of Apollo and Phthia, brother of Dorus and Laodocus. He was killed by Aetolus. *Poly ...

he traveled to Colophon, where Calchas died.

Aftermath

Unlike his brother, Podalirius survived the war, and subsequently settled in

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joine ...

. Accounts vary as to how he ended up there. According to one version, he returned to Argos after the war but later went on to consult the

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...

an oracle about a preferable place for himself to live, and was instructed to stay at a place where he would suffer no harm should the sky fall; thus he chose the Carian peninsula which was surrounded by mountains.

Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to pr ...

Lycophron Lycophron (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, sophist, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life a ...

, 1047 Others relate that on the way back from Troy Podalirius' ship was blown off course so he landed in Syrnus, Caria, where he settled. In yet another version, he got shipwrecked near the Carian coast but was rescued by a shepherd named Bybassus, the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

-to-be of a city in Caria. Podalirus could be the founder of Syrnus, which he became after the following series of events. Podalirius arrived at the court of the Carian king Damaethus and healed the king's daughter Syrna, who had fallen off a roof. In reward, Damaethus gave him Syrna in marriage and handed the power over the peninsula over to him. Podalirus founded two cities, one of which he named Syrnus after his wife and the other Bybassus after the shepherd to whom he owed his life. According to

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, a

heroön A heroön or heroon (plural heroa) (; , pl. ), also latinized as ''heroum'', is a shrine dedicated to an ancient Greek or Roman hero and used for the commemoration or cult worship of the hero. They were often erected over his or her supposed t ...

of Podalirius, and another of Calchas, were located in

Daunia The Daunians ( el, Δαύνιοι, Daúnioi; la, Daunii) were an Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited central and southern Apulia respectiv ...

, Italy, on a hill known as Drium. By the hero-shrine of Podalirius there flowed a stream believed to cure animals of any diseases.

writes that Podalirius was buried in Italy near the

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

of Calchas,Lycophron, 1047 but

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to pr ...

accuses him of providing false information and defends the versions cited above.

External links

* {{Characters in the Iliad Children of Asclepius Achaean Leaders Thessalians in the Trojan War Greek mythological heroes Mythological Greek physicians Characters in Greek mythology

Description

Mythology

Trojan war

Aftermath

See also

External links