Oxylus
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Oxylus (originally Oxylos; ) may refer 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...
, Oxylus (originally Oxylos; ) may refer to:
- A son of AresAresAres is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
and ProtogeneiaProtogeneiaProtogeneia , in Greek mythology, may refer to:*Protogeneia, a daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha, progenitors in Greek mythology. She was married to Locrus, but had no children; Zeus, however, who carried her off, became by her, on mount Maenalus in Arcadia, the father of Opus, Aethlius and Aetolus...
, daughter of CalydonCalydonCalydon was an ancient Greek city in Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus. According to Greek mythology, the city took its name from its founder Calydon, son of Aetolus. Close to the city stood Mount Zygos, the slopes of which provided the setting for the hunt of the Calydonian...
.
- An one-eyed man from AetoliaAetoliaAetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania.-Geography:...
, son of Haemon (himself son of ThoasThoasThoas , son of Andraemon and Gorge, was one of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War. He was a former suitor of Helen of Troy and led a group of forty ships for the Aetolians, one of the larger contingents. In the Iliad it states that he received his lordship because the previous...
) or of AndraemonAndraemonIn Greek mythology the name Andraemon, or Andraimôn may refer to:*Son of Oxylus and husband of Dryope.*Father of Oxylus and grandfather of the precedent....
. He was exiled from Aetolia on account of unintentional homicide; his victim was either his own brother Therimus or a certain Alcidocus, son of Scopius. In his wanderings, he met TemenusTemenusIn Greek mythology, Temenus was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the Peloponnese. He became King of Argos. He was the father of Ceisus, Káranos, Phalces, Agraeus,...
, son of Aristomachus, on a road. Temenus had been told by an oracleOracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
to look out for a man with three eyes, and Oxylus, having one eye himself and riding a horse or mule with two more, matched that description. Oxylus then, as the oracleOracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
had recommended, accompanied Temenus and his brother, CresphontesCresphontesIn Greek mythology, Cresphontes was a son of Aristomachus, husband of Merope, and brother of Temenus and Aristodemus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the Peloponnesus...
, in their invasion of the Peloponnesus. For his aid, Oxylus received ElisElisElis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
, a fertile land, as his own; others say, though, that he had to win it. He had been wanting the land for himself for a while and, suspecting that the Dorians would not give it to him, led them through ArcadiaArcadiaArcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
and not Elis, so they would not be able to observe the goodliness of it. Nevertheless, he did have to fight over the land with the Dorian Dius. The latter proposed that each side chose a single soldier to represent his army. Degmenus, an archer, fought for Dius and Pyraechmes, a slinger, for Oxylus; the latter won, and Oxylus received Elis as his domain. In accordance with a prophecy of the oracle, he brought in Agorius, great-grandson of OrestesOrestesOrestes was the son of Agamemnon in Greek mythology; Orestes may also refer to:Drama*Orestes , by Euripides*Orestes, the character in Sophocles' tragedy Electra*Orestes, the character in Aeschylus' trilogy of tragedies, Oresteia...
and thus a descendant of PelopsPelopsIn Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
, as a co-founder. The land became prosperous under him. By Pieria, Oxylus had two sons: Aetolus, who died before his parents, and Laias, who inherited the kingdom after him.
- Son of Orius, who is noted in the DeipnosophistaeDeipnosophistaeThe Deipnosophistae may be translated as The Banquet of the Learned or Philosophers at Dinner or The Gastronomers...
for fathering the HamadryadHamadryadHamadryads are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a particular type of dryad, which in turn are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a particular tree. Some believe that hamadryads are the actual tree, while normal dryads are simply the entities, or...
s with his own sister Hamadryas.