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 ...
, Lyrcus (
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 ...
: Λύρκος) was the illegitimate son of
Abas, king of
Argos.
[ Pausanias]
2.25.5
Mythology
In
Pausanias's ''Description of Greece'', the city of
Lyrceia Lyrceia or Lyrkeia (), or Lyrceium or Lyrkeion (Λυρκεῖον), was a town in ancient Argolis, distant 60 stadia (a little less than 7 miles) from Argos, and 60 stadia from Orneae, and situated on the road Climax, which proceeded from the gat ...
() lies on one of the two roads which proceeded from the gate of Deiras. The northern road leads to Lyrceia and
Orneae. The distance from
Argos to Lyrceia is about sixty
stades and the distance from Lyrceia to Orneae is the same, with Lyrceia situated between the two cities on the road named Climax.
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 ...
in
the Catalogue
''The Catalogue'' () is a box set consisting of the eight albums by German electronic music band Kraftwerk that were released from 1974 to 2003. All albums are digitally remastered, with most of the cover art redesigned, including rare photog ...
makes no mention of the city Lyrceia because at the time of the Greek expedition against
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
it already lay deserted.
The city was formerly called Lynceia after
Lynceus In Greek mythology, Lynceus (; Ancient Greek: Λυγκεύς "lynx-eyed") may refer to the following personages.
* Lynceus, one of the 50 Sons of Aegyptus.
* Lynceus, king in Thrace and husband of Lathusa, friend of Procne. Tereus gave Philomel ...
, one of the 50 sons of
Aegyptus
In Greek mythology, Aegyptus or Ægyptus (; ) was a legendary king of ancient Egypt. He was a descendant of the princess Io through his father Belus, and of the river-god Nilus as both the father of Achiroe, his mother and as a great, great-g ...
. Lynceus arrived there after fleeing from the city of
Argos when all of his brothers were murdered by the daughters of
Danaus
In Greek mythology, Danaus (, ; ''Danaós'') was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's ''Iliad'', " Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and " Argives" comm ...
on their wedding night. He gave intelligence of his safe arrival to his faithful wife
Hypermnestra
In Greek mythology, Hypermnestra (, ''Hypermnēstra'') was by birth a Libyan princess and by marriage a queen of Argos. She is a daughter of King Danaus, and one of the 50 Danaids. Hypermnestra is most notable for being the only Danaid that be ...
by holding up a torch and she in like manner informed him of her safety by raising a torch from
Larissa
Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...
the citadel of Argos.
Lyrcus was the illegitimate son of
Abas, the son of Lynceus and Hypermnestra. He was expelled from Argos and got possession of Lynceia and it was renamed
Lyrceia Lyrceia or Lyrkeia (), or Lyrceium or Lyrkeion (Λυρκεῖον), was a town in ancient Argolis, distant 60 stadia (a little less than 7 miles) from Argos, and 60 stadia from Orneae, and situated on the road Climax, which proceeded from the gat ...
. Later the town fell in ruins with nothing remaining except the statue of Lyrcus upon a pillar.
[{{cite book, url=https://archive.org/details/travelsinmoreaw06leakgoog, quote=Lyrcus., title=Travels in the Morea: With a Map and Plans, last=Leake, first=William Martin, publisher=J. Murray, year=1830, location=Original from the University of Michigan, page]
414
doi=, id=
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
Characters in Greek mythology