Amphictyon or Amphiktyon (; ), in

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 ...

, was a king of

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

and later

Athens 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 ...

. In one account, he was the ruler of

Locris Locris (; ; ) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts. Locrian tribe The city of Locri in Calabria (Italy), also known in antiquity as "Epizephyrian Locris", was a colony founded by the ...

. Pseudo-Scymnos, ''Circuit de la terre'
587 ff.
/ref>

Etymology

The name of Amphictyon is a back-formation from ''Amphictyons'', plural, from Latin ''Amphictyones'', from Greek ''Amphiktyones, Amphiktiones'', literally, "neighbors" or "those dwelling around" from ''amphi- + -ktyones, -ktiones'' (from ''ktizein'' to found); akin to Sanskrit ''kṣeti'' he dwells, ''kṣiti'' abode, Avestan ''shitish'' dwelling, Armenian ''šen'' inhabited, cultivated.

Family

Amphictyon was the second son of

Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; ) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene (mythology), Clymene, Hesione (Oceanid), Hesione, or Pronoia (mythology), Pronoia.A Scholia, scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (=''Catalogue of W ...

and

Pyrrha In Greek mythology, Pyrrha (; ) was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion of whom she had three sons, Hellen, Amphictyon, Orestheus; and three daughters Protogeneia, Pandora and Thyia. According to some accounts, Hell ...

, although there was also a tradition that he was autochthonous (born from the earth);Apollodorus, 3.14.6 he was also said to be a son of

Hellen In Greek mythology, Hellen (; ) is the eponymous progenitor of the Greeks, Hellenes. He is the son of Deucalion (or Zeus) and Pyrrha, and the father of three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of t ...

, his brother in the first account. Amphictyon's other (possible) siblings besides Hellen were

Protogeneia Protogeneia (; Ancient Greek: means "the firstborn"), in Greek mythology, may refer to: *Protogeneia, a Phthian princess as the daughter of King Deucalion of Thessaly and Pyrrha, mythological progenitors of the Hellenes. She was the sister of H ...

, Thyia, Pandora II,

Melantho In Greek mythology, Melantho (; Ancient Greek: Μελανθώ) may refer to the following women: * Melantho, also called Melanthea, a Phthian princess as the daughter of King Deucalion and Pyrrha of Thessaly, Pyrrha, daughter of Epimetheus and Pa ...

(

Melanthea In Greek mythology, Melantheia or Melanthea (Ancient Greek: Μελανθείας) was the daughter of the river-god Alpheus, and thus she can be counted as a naiad. Melanthea bore to Poseidon, Eirene whom the earlier name of Calaurea was call ...

) and Candybus. Amphictyon married a daughter of King

Cranaus In Greek mythology, Cranaus or Kranaos (;Ancient Greek: Κραναός) was the second Kings of Athens, King of Athens, succeeding Cecrops I, Cecrops I. Family Cranaus married Pedias, a Spartan woman and daughter of Mynes (mythology), Mynes, with ...

of Athens. Pausanias
1.2.6
/ref> Amphictyon had a son, Itonus, who in his turn became the father of Boeotus, Iodame and Chromia by Melanippe. He also had a daughter, never mentioned by name, who became the mother of Cercyon by

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

, and of

Triptolemus Triptolemus (), also known as Buzyges (), was a hero of Eleusis (Boeotia), Eleusis in Greek mythology, central to the Eleusinian Mysteries and is worshipped as the inventor and patron of agriculture. Triptolemus is credited with being the fir ...

by Rarus. Some added that Amphictyon had another son, Physcus, by Chthonopatra, daughter of his brother Hellen. However, others stated that Physcus was the grandson of Amphictyon through Aetolus. In this late account, the kingdom of Locris was ruled from Amphictyon to Aetolus, then Physcus and eventually, Locrus who gave his name to the land.

Mythology

One account related that during the reign of King Cranaus, Deucalion, who founded and ruled over

Lycoreia Lycoreia or Lykoreia () was a town of ancient Phocis situated upon one of the heights of Parnassus above the sanctuary of Delphi, whence came the population of Delphi. This town is said to have been founded by Deucalion and was named after Lycorus, ...

in Mt. Parnassus, was said to have fled from his kingdom during the great flood with his sons Hellen and Amphictyon, and seek refuge to Athens. Later on, the latter became king of Thermopylae and brought together those living round about the temple and named them Amphictyons, and sacrificed on their behalf. While ruling in his new kingdom, Amphictyon's brother Hellen emigrated to

Phthiotis Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...

where he became the ruler. Eventually, Amphictyon deposed Cranaus and proclaimed himself

king of Athens Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the Archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical. The following lists contain the chronological order of the title King of Athens ...

. Amphictyon ruled the kingdom for 10, or in some accounts, 12 years and founded the Amphictyonic League which traditionally met at Thermopylae in historical times. During his rule,

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

was supposed to have visited him in Athens and taught him how to mix water with wine in the proper proportions.Eustathius on Homer, p. 1815 Amphictyon was later on dethroned by Erichthonius, another autochthonous king of Athens.

Notes

References

Primary sources

* Dionysus of Halicarnassus, ''Roman Antiquities.'' English translation by Earnest Cary in the Loeb Classical Library, 7 volumes. Harvard University Press, 1937–1950
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
*Dionysius of Halicarnassus, ''Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt'', ''Vol I-IV''. . Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885
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
*

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: ), is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been ...

, ''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.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

, ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling
Online version at the Topos Text Project.

Secondary sources

* Fowler, R. L. (2013), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary'', Oxford University Press, 2013.
Google Books
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), {{ISBN, 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2). * Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London (1873)
"Amphictyon"
Kings of Athens Kings in Greek mythology Autochthons of classical mythology Deucalionids Mythological Locrians Mythological Thessalians Attic mythology Locris Thessalian mythology Delphic amphictyony