In
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 ...
, Scaeus (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
: Σκαῖος means 'on the left hand') was a
Spartan
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...
prince as one of the 20
Hippocoöntids, children of King
Hippocoön, son of
Oebalus and the
naiad
In Greek mythology, the naiads (; grc-gre, ναϊάδες, naïádes) are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.
They are distinct from river gods, who ...
Bateia
In Greek mythology, the name Batea or Bateia (; Ancient Greek: Βάτεια) refers to the following individuals:
* Batea, daughter of King Teucer of the Teucrians.Apollodorus, 3.12.1
* Batea, a Naiad, who married King Oebalus of Sparta. Thei ...
.
Family
Scaeus was the brother to
Dorycleus,
Enarophorus,
Euteiches In Greek mythology, Euteiches or Eutiches (Ancient Greek: Εὐτείχης means 'with well-built walls') was a Spartan prince as one of the 20 Hippocoöntids, children of King Hippocoön, son of Oebalus and the naiad Bateia.
Family
Eutiches ...
,
Bucolus,
Lycaethus Lycaethus (Ancient Greek: Λύκαιθος) is a name that refers to the following figures in Greek mythology:
*Lycaethus, father of Creon, king of Corinth, father of Glauce and Hippotes.
*Lycaethus, a son of King Hippocoon of Sparta, usurper of ...
,
Tebrus,
Eurytus
Eurytus, Eurytos (; Ancient Greek: Εὔρυτος) or Erytus (Ἔρυτος) is the name of several characters in Greek mythology, and of at least one historical figure.
Mythological
*Eurytus, one of the Giants, sons of Gaia, killed by Dionys ...
,
Hippothous
In Greek mythology, Hippothous ( grc, Ἱππόθοος, meaning "swift-riding") is the name of seven men:
* Hippothous, an Egyptian prince as one of the sons of King Aegyptus. Apollodorus, 2.1.5 He suffered the same fate as his other brothers, s ...
,
Hippocorystes In Greek mythology, Hippocorystes (Ancient Greek: Ἱπποκορυστὴς means 'marshaller, arranger of chariots') was a Spartan prince as one of the 20 Hippocoöntids, children of King Hippocoön, son of Oebalus and the naiad Bateia.
Famil ...
,
Alcinous
In Greek mythology, Alcinous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος ''Alkínoös'' means "mighty mind") was a son of Nausithous and brother of Rhexenor. After the latter's death, he married his brother's daughter Arete who bor ...
,
[ Apollodorus, 3.10.5] Alcimus
Alcimus (from grc-gre, Ἄλκιμος ''Alkimos'', "valiant" or Hebrew אליקום ''Elyaqum'', "God will rise"), also called Jakeimos, Jacimus, or Joachim (), was High Priest of Israel for three years from 162–159 BCE. He was a moderate Hell ...
,
Dorceus,
Sebrus,
Eumedes,
Enaesimus,
Alcon
Alcon is an American Swiss medical company specializing in eye care products with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and incorporated in Fribourg, Switzerland. Alcon began as a US company and its US subsidiary’s headquarters remain in Fort ...
and
Leucippus
Leucippus (; el, Λεύκιππος, ''Leúkippos''; fl. 5th century BCE) is a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who has been credited as the first philosopher to develop a theory of atomism.
Leucippus' reputation, even in antiquity, was obscured ...
.
Mythology
Scaeus, together with his brothers, helped their father usurped the throne of
Lacedaemonia and expelled the former king,
Tyndareus
In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (; Ancient Greek: Τυνδάρεος, ''Tundáreos''; Attic: Τυνδάρεως, ''Tundáreōs''; ) was a Spartan king.
Family
Tyndareus was the son of Oebalus (or Perieres) and Gorgophone (or Bateia). He marrie ...
, the son of
Gorgophone and Hipocoon's (half-)brother. Ultimately, the Hippocoöntids and their father were slain by
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...
who also restored Tyndareus as the rightful ruler of the Lacedeamonians. The bad blood between these two parties can be attributed to the following reasons: (1) the refusal of Hippocoon and his family to cleanse the hero after the death of
Iphitus when he came to Sparta, (2) Scaeus and his brothers joined King
Neleus
Neleus (; Ancient Greek: Νηλεύς) was a mythological king of Pylos. In some accounts, he was also counted as an Argonaut instead of his son, Nestor.
Family
Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro. According to Pausanias, Neleus was the s ...
of
Pylos in his war with the Heracles, and (3) for the manslaughter of
Oeonus, son of
Licymnius
In Greek mythology, Licymnius (; grc-gre, Λικύμνιος) was a good friend of Heracles' and an illegitimate son of Electryon, King of Tiryns and Mycenae in the Argolid (which makes him half-brother of Alcmene, mother of Heracles). His mothe ...
and the hero's cousin, who was beaten to death by the Hippocoöntids with their clubs for stoning in self-defense their
Molossian
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On the ...
dog. For the latter incident, Heracles straightway give them battle as he was very angry but was wounded in the hip-joint and he stealthily retreated. Afterwards, the son of
Alcmene
In Greek mythology, Alcmene () or Alcmena (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκμήνη or Doric Greek: Ἀλκμάνα, Latin: Alcumena means "strong in wrath") was the wife of Amphitryon by whom she bore two children, Iphicles and Laonome. She is best k ...
made an expedition against Sparta enlisting the aid of King
Cepheus of
Arcadia and his sons, and succeeded in avenging himself on Hippocoon, and also on Scaeus and his brothers, for their murder of Oeonus.
[Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca historica'' 4.33.5; Apollodorus, 2.7.3; Pausanias, 2.18.7, 3.15.3–6 & 3.15.9]
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
* Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which ...
, ''The Library of History'' translated by Charles Henry Oldfather
Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia.
Parentage
Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...
. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann_(publisher), Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works ...
. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gaius Julius Hyginus
Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Gramma ...
, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* 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
Princes in Greek mythology