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 ...

, Lycurgus (; ), also Lykurgos or Lykourgos, was a king of

Tegea Tegea (; ) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal unit with an area o ...

in Arcadia.

Family

Lycurgus was the son of Aleus, the previous ruler of

, and Neaera, daughter of Pereus, and thus, brother to the

Argonauts The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...

Amphidamas Amphidamas (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιδάμας) was the name of multiple people in Greek mythology: *Amphidamas, father of Pelagon, king of Phocis, who gave Cadmus the cow that was to guide him to Boeotia. *Amphidamas or Amphidamantes, father ...

, Cepheus,

Auge In Greek mythology, Auge (; ; Modern Greek: "av-YEE"), was the daughter of Aleus the king of Tegea in Arcadia, and the virgin priestess of Athena Alea. She was also the mother of the hero Telephus by Heracles. Auge had sex with Heracles (ei ...

and Alcidice. He married either Cleophyle,

Eurynome Eurynomê (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυνόμη, from , ''eurys'', "broad" and , ''nomos'', "pasture" or "law") is a name that refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: * Eurynome, pre-Olympian queen and wife of Ophion * Eurynome (Oce ...

Antinoe In Greek mythology, the name Antinoe (; Ancient Greek: Ἀντινόη) may refer to: * Antinoe, mother of Ancaeus and Epochus by King Lycurgus of Arcadia.Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 1.164 The latter's wife was otherwise k ...

Scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is ...

, 1.164 and fathered these sons: Ancaeus,

Epochus In Greek mythology, the name Epochus (Ancient Greek: ) may refer to: *Epochus, an Arcadian prince as son of King Lycurgus of Arcadia and Cleophyle or Eurynome or Antinoe, and thus the brother of Ancaeus, Amphidamas and Iasus. Epochus particip ...

, and Iasius.

Mythology

Lycurgus was notorious for killing, by ambushing him, a warrior called Areithous. He attacked the man unexpectedly in a narrow passage where Areithous' famous club was useless. Lycurgus took Areithous' armor as spoils and wore it himself, but handed it over to Ereuthalion when he had grown old. In homer's Iliad Nestor recounts killing Ereuthalion in a battle between Pylos and Arcadia. According to

scholia Scholia (: scholium or scholion, from , "comment", "interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient a ...

on the ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

'', Ereuthalion was also vanquished by Lycurgus, who laid an ambush against him and overcame him in the ensuing battle. The Arcadians celebrated a feast known as ''Moleia'' in commemoration of this mythical event (''mōlos'' being a word for "battle" according to the scholiast), and paid general honors to Lycurgus. Lycurgus outlived his sons and reached an extreme old age for Epochus fell ill and died while Ancaeus was wounded by the Calydonian boar. On his death, he was succeeded by

Echemus In Greek mythology, Echemus (; , ''Ekhemos'') was the Tegean king of Arcadia who succeeded Lycurgus. Family Echemus was the son of Aeropus, son of King Cepheus. Pausanias8.5.1/ref> He was married to Timandra, daughter of Leda and Tynda ...

, son of Aeropus, son of his brother Cepheus.Pausanias, 8.4.10 & 8.5.1

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''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
*

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
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. {{ISBN, 0-674-99328-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Princes in Greek mythology Mythological kings of Arcadia Mythological Arcadians Tegea