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 ...

, the name Eleius (;

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 ...

: Ἠλεῖος) may refer to: *Eleius, son of

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

Eurycyda In Greek mythology, Eurycyda (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυκύδα, sic) was an Elean princess as the daughter of King Endymion of Elis by either Asterodia, Chromia or Hyperippe. Her brothers were Aetolus, Epeius, Paeon and possibly Naxos. With Po ...

. When

Aetolus Aetolus (; Ancient Greek: Αἰτωλός ''Aitolos'') was, in Greek mythology, a son of Endymion, great-great-grandson of Deucalion, and a Naiad nymph (Neis), or Iphianassa. Family According to Pausanias, Aetolus' mother was called Astero ...

, his maternal uncle, was sent into exile, Eleius became king of the Epeans (who had received their original name from his other uncle,

Epeius There were two characters named Epeius (; Ancient Greek: Ἐπειός ''Epeiós'') or Epeus in Greek mythology. * Epeius, an Elean prince as son of King Endymion. He ran a race at Olympia, against his brothers Aetolus and Paeon, winning his f ...

) and renamed his people the Eleans after himself, and the land was accordingly named

Elis Elis also known as Ellis or Ilia (, ''Eleia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it ...

. He had a son

Augeas In Greek mythology, Augeas (or Augeias, , ), whose name means "bright", was king of Elis and father of Epicaste. Some ancient authors say that Augeas was one of the Argonauts. He is known for his stables, which housed the single greatest number ...

. *Eleius, a descendant of the precedent (the lineage is as follows: Eleius I - Augeas -

Agasthenes In Greek mythology, Agasthenes (Ancient Greek: Ἀγασθένης) was the son of Augeas, and his successor in the kingdom of Elis. The government was shared between Amphimachus, Thalpius and Agasthenes. With Peloris, he was the father of Poly ...

Polyxenus In Greek mythology, Polyxenus or Polyxeinus (, ''Poluxenos'', or , ''Poluxeinos'') is a name that may refer to: *Polyxenus, one of the first priests of Demeter and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. *Polyxenus, ...

Amphimachus In Greek mythology, Amphimachus (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφίμαχος derived from ἀμφί ''amphi'' "on both sides, in all directions, surrounding" and μαχη ''mache'' "battle") was a name attributed to multiple individuals. * Amphimachus, so ...

- Eleius II), and also king of Elis. It was during his reign that the

Heracleidae The Heracleidae (; ) or Heraclids were the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially applied in a narrower sense to the descendants of Hyllus, the eldest of his four sons by Deianira (Hyllus was also sometimes thought of as Heracles' son ...

assembled under the leadership of Aristomachus' sons to attempt to return to

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the ...

. *Eleius, son of

Tantalus Tantalus ( ), also called Atys, was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: for either revealing many secrets of the gods, for stealing ambrosia from them, or for trying to trick them into eating his son, he ...

and another possible eponym of Elis.

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 ...

, s.v. ''Ēlis''

Notes

References

* 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
*

, ''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.
{{Greek myth index Kings of Elis Kings in Greek mythology Children of Poseidon Mythological Eleans Elean mythology