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Listed 10 sub titles with search on: Mythology for destination: "LYKOSSOURA Ancient city MEGALOPOLI".


Mythology (10)

Eponymous founders or settlers

Lycaon

Lycaon (Lukaon). A son of Pelasgus by Meliboea, the daughter of Oceanus, and king of Arcadia (Apollod. iii. 8.1). Others call him a son of Pelasgus by Cyllene (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1642), and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (i. 11, 13) distinguishes between an elder and a younger Lycaon, the former of whom is called a son of Aezeus and father of Deianeira, by whom Pelasgus became the father of the younger Lycaon. The traditions about him place Lycaon in very different lights, for according to some, he was a barbarian who even defied the gods (Ov. Met. i. 198), while others describe him as the first civiliser of Arcadia, who built the town of Lycosura, and introduced the worship of Zeus Lycaeus. It is added that he sacrificed a child on the altar of Zeus, and that during the sacrifice he was changed by Zeus into a wolf (Paus. viii. 2.1; comp. Ov. Met. i. 237). By several wives Lycaon became the father of a large number of sons, some say fifty, and others only twenty-two; but neither their number nor their names are the same in all accounts (Apollod., Dionys. ll. cc.; Paus. viii. 3.1; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 313). The sons of Lycaon are said to have been notorious for their insolence and impiety, and Zeus visited them in the disguise of a poor man, with a view to punish them. They invited him to a repast, and on the suggestion of one of them, Maenalus, they mixed in one of the dishes set before him the entrails of a boy whom they had murdered. According to Ovid Zeus was recognised and worshipped by the Arcadian people, but Lycaon, after a vain attempt to kill the god, resolved to try him with the dish of human flesh (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 481; Eratosth. Catest. 8). However, Zeus pushed away the table which bore the horrible food, and the place where this happened was afterwards called Trapezus. Lycaon and all his sons, with the exception of the youngest (or eldest), Nyctimus, were killed by Zeus with a flash of lightning, or according to others, were changed into wolves (Ov., Tzetz. ll. cc.; Paus. viii. 3.1). Some say that the flood of Deucalion occurred in the reign of Nyctimus, as a punishment of the crimes of the Lycaonids (Apollod. l. c.).

This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Lycaon. A mythical king of Arcadia, son of Pelasgus and Meliboea (daughter of Oceanus) or Cyllene, and father of Callisto. He is said to have founded on Mount Lycaeum the town Lycosura, the oldest that the sun looked upon, and to have sacrificed a child to Zeus on the altar he had raised on the highest peak of the mountain, on account of which he was changed into a wolf. Another legend relates that he had fifty impious sons. When Zeus came to them in the guise of a beggar, in order to put their contempt of the gods to the test, they followed the advice of Maenalus, the eldest, and set before him the entrails of a boy which had been mixed with the sacrifice. The god, however, threw the table over and killed Lycaon and his sons with lightning, with the exception of Nyctimus, the youngest, whom Gaea saved by firmly holding the right hand of Zeus. During the reign of Nyctimus the deluge connected with the name of Deucalion covered the land as a punishment for the impiety of Lycaon and his sons.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Kings

Nyctimus

Eldest son of Lycaon, youngest son of Lycaon, alone of the sons of Lycaon saved by Earth, succeeds to the kingdom (of Arcadia), in his reign the flood of Deucalion, father of Periphetes.

Arkas (Arcas)

Son of Zeus by Callisto, his inventions, given by Zeus to Maia to bring up, Arcadia called after him, his sons, his grave, his bones fetched from Maenalus to Mantinea, image at Delphi.
More information about Arcas at Ancient Arcadia

Clitor

Son of Azan.

Aepytus

Aepytus (Aiputos). One of the mythical kings of Arcadia. He was the son of Eilatus (Pind. Ol. vi. 54), and originally ruled over Phaesana on the Alpheius in Arcadia. When Cleitor, the son of Azan, died without leaving any issue, Aepytus succeeded him and became king of the Arcadians, a part of whose country was called after him Aepytis. (Paus. viii. 4.4, 34.3) He is said to have been killed during the chase on mount Sepia by the bite of a venomous snake. (Paus. viii. 4.4, 16.2) His tomb there was still shown in the time of Pausanias, and he was anxious to see it, because it was mentioned in Homer. (Il. ii. 604.)

This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Gods & demigods

Anytus

Anytus (Anutos), a Titan who was believed to have brought up the goddess Despoena. In an Arcadian temple his statue stood by the side of Despoena's. (Paus. viii. 37.3)

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