Alcyoneus
Encyclopedia
Alcyoneus or Alkyoneus is a name that refers to several distinct figures in Greek mythology
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Alcyoneus was the eldest of the Thracian
Gigantes of Greek mythology. He was born (like all other Gigantes) in full armor with a spear in his hand. He was the most prominent of the Gigantes who led a major rebellion against the Olympian Gods, and was said to be immortal in his homeland, Pallene.
Alcyoneus was in possession of the Isthmus of Corinth
at the time when Heracles
drove away the oxen of Geryon
. The giant attacked him, crushed twelve wagons and twenty-four of the men of Heracles with a huge block of stone. Heracles himself warded off the stone with his club and slew Alcyoneus. The block with which the giant had attacked Heracles was shown on the isthmus down to a very late period. In another passage Pindar
calls Alcyoneus a Thracian shepherd, and places the struggle with him in the Phlegraean plains.
According to Pseudo-Apollodorus
, Heracles
sneaked up on Alcyoneus and wounded him, although the giant did not die until Heracles dragged him out of his homeland, Pallene.
His seven daughters are the Alkyonides
.
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...
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The Giant
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
Gigantes of Greek mythology. He was born (like all other Gigantes) in full armor with a spear in his hand. He was the most prominent of the Gigantes who led a major rebellion against the Olympian Gods, and was said to be immortal in his homeland, Pallene.
Alcyoneus was in possession of the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
at the time when Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
drove away the oxen of Geryon
Geryon
In Greek mythology, Geryon , son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern...
. The giant attacked him, crushed twelve wagons and twenty-four of the men of Heracles with a huge block of stone. Heracles himself warded off the stone with his club and slew Alcyoneus. The block with which the giant had attacked Heracles was shown on the isthmus down to a very late period. In another passage Pindar
Pindar
Pindar , was an Ancient Greek lyric poet. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian described him as "by far the greatest of the nine lyric poets, in virtue of his inspired magnificence, the beauty of his thoughts and figures, the rich...
calls Alcyoneus a Thracian shepherd, and places the struggle with him in the Phlegraean plains.
According to Pseudo-Apollodorus
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
The Bibliotheca , in three books, provides a comprehensive summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends, "the most valuable mythographical work that has come down from ancient times," Aubrey Diller observed, whose "stultifying purpose" was neatly expressed in the epigram noted by...
, Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
sneaked up on Alcyoneus and wounded him, although the giant did not die until Heracles dragged him out of his homeland, Pallene.
His seven daughters are the Alkyonides
Alkyonides
The Alkyonides were, in Greek mythology, the seven daughters of Alcyoneus. When their father was slain by Heracles, they threw themselves into the sea, and were transformed into halcyons by Amphitrite...
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Other characters
Alcyoneus is also the name of three minor mythological figures:- Alcyoneus, son of Diomus and Meganeira, a handsome youth of DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
who was to be given up to SybarisSybaris (mythology)Sybaris was a drakaina of Greek mythology. Dwelling on Mount Kriphis, Sybaris terrorized the countryside of Delphi, devouring livestock and people. The people of the region asked the oracle how to end the depredations. The oracle answered that a young man needed to be sacrificed to the dragon...
, but was rescued by Eurybarus. - Alcyoneus, an EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n who fought under Memnon in 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...
. - Alcyoneus, an alternate name for IschysIschysIn Greek mythology, Ischys was the son of Elatus and Hippea, and also the lover of Coronis. While Coronis was carrying Apollo's child, a crow told Apollo of the affair between Ischys and Coronis...
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