Eurybarus or Eurybaros (

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 ...

: Εὐρύβαρος), Eurybatos (Εὐρύβατος) or Eurybates (Εὐρυβάτης) was a

Greek mythological Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...

hero, son of

Euphemus In Greek mythology, Euphemus (, ''Eὔphēmos'', "reputable") was counted among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene, Libya, Cyrene. Family Euphemus was a son of Poseidon, ...

and a descendant of the river god

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

Mythology

Eurybarus was a young man but brave, and by divine inspiration happened to be coming from

Curetis ''Curetis'', the sunbeams, is a genus of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae) from Southeast Asia. They are presently the only genus in the subfamily Curetinae. Selected species * '' Curetis acuta'' - angled sunbeam ** ''Curetis acuta formo ...

and encountered the young and handsome

Alcyoneus In Greek mythology, Alcyoneus or Alkyoneus (; ) was a traditional opponent of the hero Heracles. He was usually considered to be one of the Gigantes (Giants (Greek mythology), Giants), the offspring of Gaia (mythology), Gaia born from the blood o ...

as he was being led from

Crisa Computadores, Redes e Ingeniería, SAU (CRISA) is a Spanish company founded in 1985 to develop and manufacture electronics and software products for aerospace applications. In 2000, CRISA became part of the Airbus group. CRISA is based north of ...

to the cave of the monster

Sybaris Sybaris (; ) was an important ancient Greek city situated on the coast of the Gulf of Taranto in modern Calabria, Italy. The city was founded around 720 BC by Achaeans (tribe), Achaean and Troezenian settlers and the Achaeans also went on ...

Mount Cirphis Cirphis or Kirphis or Kirfis (, ) is a mountain in Greece north of the Bay of Antikyra in the Gulf of Corinth. It is separated from Mount Parnassus by the valley of the Pleistos. In antiquity, it was reckoned as part of the district of Phocis ...

to be sacrificed to deliver the Delphians from her menace. Falling in love at first sight with him, and asking why they were doing so, Eurybarus realized that he could neither defend him nor let him perish wretchedly. He tore the wreath from Alcyoneus's head, placed it on his own, and gave orders that he himself should be led forward instead. As soon as he entered the cavern, Eurybarus dragged Sybaris from her den and threw her off the crags. She struck her head against the footings of Crisa and faded from sight. From that rock sprang a fountain, which the locals call Sybaris.

Analysis

The myth corresponds to Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index tale type ATU 300, "The Dragon-Slayer." It is similar to the legend of the boxer Euthymos except the victim is male and monster is female.

Note

References

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis () was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between the second and third centuries AD. He is known as the author of ''The Metamorphoses'', a collection of tales that offers new variants of already familiar myths ...

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Greek mythological heroes LGBTQ themes in Greek mythology Mythological Aetolians ATU 300-399 {{Greek-myth-stub

Mythology

Analysis

See also

Note

References