Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, Nycteus (; el, Νυκτεύς, Nukteús, nocturnal) was a king of Thebes. His rule began after the death of

Polydorus In Greek mythology, Polydorus (; grc, Πολύδωρος, i.e. "many-gift d) or Polydoros referred to several different people. *Polydorus, son of Phineus and Cleopatra, and brother of Polydector (Polydectus). These two sons by his first wife wer ...

, and ended when he was succeeded by his brother Lycus.

Family

Nycteus and his brother Lycus were the sons of either Chthonius, one of the

Spartoi In Greek mythology, Spartoi (also Sparti or Spartae) (Ancient Greek: Σπαρτοί, literal translation: "sown en, from σπείρω, ''speírō'', "to sow") are a mythical people who sprang up from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus and were ...

, Apollodorus, 3.5.5 or of the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

Clonia and Hyrieus, the son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

and the Atlantid Alkyone, or of Poseidon and the Pleiad

Celaeno In Greek mythology, Celaeno (; grc, Κελαινώ ''Kelaino'', lit. 'the dark one', also Celeno or Kelaino, sometimes isspelledCalaeno) referred to several different figures. * Celaeno, one of the Pleiades. She was said to be mother of Lycus a ...

. Nycteus had two daughters by

Polyxo Polyxo (; Ancient Greek: Πολυξώ ''Poluxṓ'') is the name of several figures in Greek mythology: *Polyxo, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oceanus and his sister-wife Tethys. *Polyxo, one of the Hyades.''Hygi ...

Nycteis ''Nycteis'' is a genus of beetles in the family Carabidae, containing the following species: * ''Nycteis alluaudi'' (Jeannel, 1949) * ''Nycteis apicalis'' (Fairmaire, 1904) * ''Nycteis brevicollis'' Laporte De Castelnau, 1834 * ''Nycteis chl ...

and

Antiope Antiope may refer to: Mythology * Antiope (Greek myth), several figures in Greek mythology including: ** Antiope (Amazon), daughter of Ares ** Antiope (mother of Amphion), mother of Amphion by Zeus, associated with the mythology of Thebes, Greece ...

Mythology

The Nycteus and Lycus fled from

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest ...

after they murdered King Phlegyas, settling in Hyria and then moving to Thebes, because they were friends with

Pentheus In Greek mythology, Pentheus (; grc, Πενθεύς, Pentheús) was a king of Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and the goddess Harmonia. His sister w ...

, its king. Nycteus's daughter, Nycteis married Polydorus, who was the successor of Pentheus, and their son was Labdacus. However, Pentheus and Polydorus both died soon after, and Nycteus became regent for Labdacus. After Antiope was impregnated by

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

and fled to marry king

Epopeus In Greek mythology, Epopeus (; , derived from (, "to look out", "observe"), from (, "over") and (, "eye")) was the name of the following figures: * Epopeus, king of Sicyon. * Epopeus, king of Lesbos and both father and rapist of Nyctimene. * Ep ...

Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mo ...

, the '' Bibliotheca'' reports that Nycteus killed himself in shame, after asking Lycus to punish her. Pausanias, however, states that Nycteus led the Thebans against Epopeus, but was wounded and carried back to Thebes, where he died after asking Lycus to continue the battle.Pausanias, 2.6.2 Lycus succeeded him as regent of Thebes.

Theban royal family tree

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''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. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* 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
{{Greek-myth-stub Theban kings Kings in Greek mythology Boeotian characters in Greek mythology Theban characters in Greek mythology Boeotian mythology Theban mythology