Lelex
Lelex | |
---|---|
Spouse(s) | Cleocharia |
Children | Myles Polycaon Pterelaus |
Parent(s) | Helios (father) |
In Greek mythology, Lelex (/ˈliːlɪks/; Ancient Greek: Λέλεξ, gen. Λέλεγος) was one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia.
Family[]
Lelex was said to be autochthonous[1] or his father is said to be the sun-god Helios[citation needed]. He was married to the Naiad nymph Cleocharia and became the father of several sons, including Myles and Polycaon. Some call his wife , and his children Myles, , Bomolochus, and Therapne.[2]
In other traditions, again, Lelex is described as a son of , and as the father of Amyclas.[3]
Through Myles, Lelex was the grandfather of Eurotas who had a daughter named Sparta.[4] This woman later marry Lacedaemon[5] who named the city of Sparta after his wife; however, the city's name would also be his own, as it was called either Lacedaemon or Sparta interchangeably.
Sources indicate that Perseus is a descendant of Lelex. Lelex’s great-granddaughter Sparta gave birth to a daughter named Eurydice who had married Acrisius, the king of Argos. Eurydice became the mother of Danaë, thus making her Perseus’ grandmother.[6]
Mythology[]
Lelex appears to have been conceived by ancient mythographers as the eponymous founder of the Leleges, a semi-mythical people who lived on both sides of the Aegean Sea.[7] He had a heroum at Sparta.[8]
Notes[]
- ^ Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 3.10.3
- ^ Scholia ad Euripides, Orestes 61.5
- ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica s.v. Lakedaimon
- ^ Guide to Greece, 3.1.1-3.
- ^ Pausanias. "Sparta, mythical history". Description of Greece, translated by WHS Jones.
- ^ Grimal, Pierre, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, ISBN 978-0-631-20102-1. "Eurydice" (2), p. 157.
- ^ Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 4.1.1
- ^ Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 3.12.5
- Mythological kings of Laconia
- Children of Poseidon
- Autochthons of classical mythology