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 ...

, Theoclymenus (;

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 ...

: Θεοκλύμενος) was a

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

from

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

. He is a character in the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', in which he accompanies

Telemachus In Greek mythology, Telemachus ( ; ) is the son of Odysseus and Penelope, who are central characters in Homer's ''Odyssey''. When Telemachus reached manhood, he visited Pylos and Sparta in search of his wandering father. On his return to Ithaca, ...

from

Pylos Pylos (, ; ), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of ...

back to

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

. In the ''Odyssey'', he foresees Odysseus' return to Ithaca and the death of Penelope's suitors, but he is not believed when he reveals these visions.

Family

Theoclymenus was the son of

Polypheides In Greek mythology, the name Polypheides or Polyphides (; Ancient Greek: Πολυφείδης) may refer to: *Polypheides, son of Mantius and brother of Cleitus. He was granted prophetic skills by Apollo and became the best seer among mortals aft ...

and Aechme, daughter of

Haemon In Greek mythology, Haemon or Haimon (Ancient Greek: Αἵμων, ''Haimon'' "bloody"; ''gen''.: Αἵμωνος) was the son of Creon and Eurydice, and thus brother of Menoeceus ( Megareus), Lycomedes, Megara, Pyrrha and Henioche. The various ...

, and brother of Harmonides. In some accounts, his parents were

Thestor ''Thestor'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. The species are Afrotropical. Species *'' Thestor barbatus'' Henning & Henning, 1997 – bearded skolly *'' Thestor basutus'' (Wallengren, 1857) – Basuto skolly, Basuto magpie *' ...

and possibly Polymele, and thus, the brother of Leucippe, Theonoe and Calchas.

Mythology

In the ''

'', he escaped from Argos after killing one of his relatives. He fled to

and sought refuge aboard the ship of

, who had come to inquire about the fate of his father,

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. Telemachus obliged, and Theoclymenus accompanied him back to

. There, Theoclymenus interpreted the

auspice Augury was a Greco- Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" () means "looking at birds". '' ...

s of the birds, predicting that Telemachus would become head of the royal house of Ithaca. He also prophesied that Odysseus was already in Ithaca, disguised and watching as events unfolded. When he told

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

of these signs, she did not believe him. Later, at dinner, he had a vision of the death of the suitors, but they laughed at his predictions, not knowing they would be killed that night.

Theoclymenos of Egypt

Theoclymenos is also the name of the king of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

' play '' Helen''. He is the son of

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Prote ...

, who he succeeds as kind, and the brother of the seer Theonoe.'' RE''
s.v. Theoklymenos (2)

Notes

References

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 Augustus, and reputed author of the '' Fabulae'' and the '' De astronomia'', although this is disputed. Life and works ...

, ''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.
{{Authority control Mythological Greek seers Characters in the Odyssey Mythological Argives Messenian mythology Mythology of Argos, Peloponnese