Megapenthes
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Megapénthês is a name that refers to:
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, Megapénthês is a name that refers to:
- A son of ProetusProetusProetus was a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns. His father Abas, son of the last surviving and died Danaid Hypermnestra, had ruled over Argos and married Ocalea. However, Proetus quarreled continually with his twin brother Acrisius, inventing shields or bucklers in the process...
. He exchanged kingdoms (ArgosArgosArgos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
for TirynsTirynsTiryns is a Mycenaean archaeological site in the prefecture of Argolis in the Peloponnese, some kilometres north of Nauplion.-General information:...
) with his cousin Perseus, whom he killed much later. He was the father of ArgeusArgeus (king of Argos)Argeus was a mythological king of Argos in Ancient Greece, the son of Megapenthes, and possibly the father of Anaxagoras....
and possibly AnaxagorasAnaxagoras (mythology)In Greek mythology, Anaxagoras was a king of Argos and son of either Megapenthes or his son Argeus. The prince, Anaxagoras' son, suffered from a strange malady and the king offered a reward for anybody that could heal him. Melampus, a local seer, killed an ox and talked to the vultures that came...
(or else Anaxagoras was his grandson through Argeus). He also had a daughter IphianeiraIphianeiraIn Greek mythology, the name Iphianeira may refer to two women, great-grandmother and great-granddaughter:*Daughter of Megapenthes and wife of Melampus, mother of Antiphates, Bias, Pronoe and Manto....
, who married MelampusMelampusIn Greek mythology, Melampus, or Melampous , was a legendary soothsayer and healer, originally of Pylos, who ruled at Argos. He was the introducer of the worship of Dionysus, according to Herodotus, who asserted that his powers as a seer were derived from the Egyptians and that he could understand...
.
- A son of MenelausMenelausMenelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
, who ruled after his father's death and sent Helen into exile. In some legends, Helen was his mother; in most, however, he was Menelaus's son by a concubine, Pieris or Tereis, and was born during the Trojan WarTrojan WarIn Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
. His name means "great sorrow" and he is named that because he was born from an affair that Menelaus had while grieving at the loss of Helen. He marries the daughter of AlectorAlectorAlector refers to more than one person in classical myth and history:*Alector, the father of Leitus, himself one of the Argonauts. Homer calls him "Alectryon", and Diodorus "Electryon"....
in the beginning of Book IV of the Odyssey (according to the scholia on line 10, her name was Iphiloche or Echemela). He also appears in Book XV of the Odyssey, where he is shown offering valuable gifts to TelemachusTelemachusTelemachus is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books in particular focus on Telemachus' journeys in search of news about his father, who has been away at war...
together with Menelaus and Helen. Megapenthes and his brother or half-brother Nicostratus were depicted on the throne in Amyclae riding one and the same horse.