Ilus
Encyclopedia
Ilus is the name of several mythological persons associated directly or indirectly with Troy
.
's Iliad
mentions at several points the tomb of Ilus son of Dardanus
in the middle of the Trojan plain. Later writers explain him as the son and heir of Dardanus who died childless whence his brother Erichthonius
gained the kingship.
the founder of the city called Ilion (Latinized as Ilium) to which he gave his name. When the latter became the chief city of the Trojan people it was also often called Troy
, the name by which it is best known today.
Ilus was son and heir to Tros of Dardania
and brother of Assaracus
and Ganymede
. He won the wrestling prize at games held by the King of Phrygia and received fifty youths and maidens as his reward. The king also, on the advice of an oracle, gave him a cow and asked him to found a city where it should lie down. Ilus did so.
Ilus then prayed to Zeus
for a sign and at once saw the Palladium
fallen from heaven and lying before his tent but was immediately blinded for the impiety of looking on the image. He regained his sight after making offerings to Athena
.
Ilus preferred his new city of Ilium to Dardania and on his father's death he remained there, bestowing the rule of Dardania on his brother Assaracus
instead and so the Trojans were split into two kingdoms.
Ilus was father of Laomedon
who succeeded him. His wife was said to be either Eurydice
(daughter of Adrastus
), or Leucippe
. Other children of Ilus include two daughters, Themiste
(or Themis
) and Telecleia
, who married Capys
and Cisseus
, respectively.
and Medea
. This Ilus lived at Ephyra
, between Elis
and Olympia
. In a tale recounted in The Odyssey, he played host to Odysseus
, but when Odysseus requested from Ilus poison for his arrows, he declined, from fear of divine vengeance.
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
.
Ilus (son of Dardanus)
HomerHomer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
mentions at several points the tomb of Ilus son of Dardanus
Dardanus
In Greek mythology, Dardanus was a son of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas, and founder of the city of Dardania on Mount Ida in the Troad....
in the middle of the Trojan plain. Later writers explain him as the son and heir of Dardanus who died childless whence his brother Erichthonius
Erichthonius of Dardania
The mythical King Erichthonius of Dardania was the son of Dardanus or Darda, King of Dardania, and Batea,...
gained the kingship.
Ilus (son of Tros)
Ilus (Ilos in Greek) is in Greek mythologyGreek 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...
the founder of the city called Ilion (Latinized as Ilium) to which he gave his name. When the latter became the chief city of the Trojan people it was also often called Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, the name by which it is best known today.
Ilus was son and heir to Tros of Dardania
Dardania (Asia minor)
Dardania in Greek mythology is the name of a city founded on Mount Ida by Dardanus from which also the region and the people took their name. It lay on the Hellespont, and is the source of the strait's modern name, the Dardanelles....
and brother of Assaracus
Assaracus
In Greek mythology, Assaracus was the second son of Tros, King of Dardania. He inherited the throne when his elder brother Ilus preferred to reign instead over his newly founded city of Ilium . He married Hieromneme, daughter of Simoeis; others say his wife was Clytodora, daughter of Laomedon....
and Ganymede
Ganymede (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Ganymede is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. Homer describes Ganymede as the most beautiful of mortals. In the best-known myth, he is abducted by Zeus, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer in Olympus. Some interpretations of the myth treat it as an allegory of...
. He won the wrestling prize at games held by the King of Phrygia and received fifty youths and maidens as his reward. The king also, on the advice of an oracle, gave him a cow and asked him to found a city where it should lie down. Ilus did so.
Ilus then prayed to Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
for a sign and at once saw the Palladium
Palladium (mythology)
In Greek and Roman mythology, a palladium or palladion was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend. "Palladium" especially signified the wooden statue of Pallas Athena that Odysseus and Diomedes stole from the citadel of Troy and which was later taken to the...
fallen from heaven and lying before his tent but was immediately blinded for the impiety of looking on the image. He regained his sight after making offerings to Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
.
Ilus preferred his new city of Ilium to Dardania and on his father's death he remained there, bestowing the rule of Dardania on his brother Assaracus
Assaracus
In Greek mythology, Assaracus was the second son of Tros, King of Dardania. He inherited the throne when his elder brother Ilus preferred to reign instead over his newly founded city of Ilium . He married Hieromneme, daughter of Simoeis; others say his wife was Clytodora, daughter of Laomedon....
instead and so the Trojans were split into two kingdoms.
Ilus was father of Laomedon
Laomedon
In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...
who succeeded him. His wife was said to be either Eurydice
Eurydice of Troy
In Greek Mythology, Eurydice was the daughter of Adrastus, wife of Ilus, and mother of King Laomedon....
(daughter of Adrastus
Adrastus
Adrastus or Adrestus , traditionally translated as "nonparticipant" or "uncooperative", was a legendary king of Argos during the war of the Seven Against Thebes.-Mythological tradition:...
), or Leucippe
Leucippe
In Greek mythology, Leucippe is the name of the following individuals:*One of the Minyades, three sisters who were driven by Dionysus to kill Hippasus, the son of Leucippe...
. Other children of Ilus include two daughters, Themiste
Themiste
In Greek mythology, Themiste was the daughter of Ilus and Eurydice, sister of Laomedon and mother of Anchises by her husband Capys, son of Assaracus....
(or Themis
Themis
Themis is an ancient Greek Titaness. She is described as "of good counsel", and is the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom. Themis means "divine law" rather than human ordinance, literally "that which is put in place", from the verb τίθημι, títhēmi, "to put"...
) and Telecleia
Telecleia
In Greek mythology, Telecleia was a daughter of King Ilus of Troy, and the wife of King Cisseus of Thrace. She is therefore the mother of Theano, wife to Antenor, and also a possible mother of Hecuba....
, who married Capys
Capys
In Greek mythology, Capys was a name attributed to three individuals:*A son of Assaracus and Hieromneme , and father of Anchises and so grandfather of Aeneas...
and Cisseus
Cisseus
In Greek mythology, Cisseus was a Thracian king and father of Theano, the wife of Antenor, as related in Homer's Iliad. His wife was Telecleia, a daughter of King Ilus of Troy....
, respectively.
Ilus (son of Mermerus)
Another Ilus from Greek mythology was a son of Mermerus, and grandson of JasonJason
Jason was a late ancient Greek mythological hero from the late 10th Century BC, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus...
and Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
. This Ilus lived at Ephyra
Ephyra
Ephyra may refer to:* The city of Kichyro, later known as Ephyra.* Ephyra, one of the Oceanids* Ephyra, one of the Nereids* Ephyra, a stage of the life cycle of jellyfish* Efyra, a village and an archeological site in Elis, Greece...
, between Elis
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
and Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
. In a tale recounted in The Odyssey, he played host to Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
, but when Odysseus requested from Ilus poison for his arrows, he declined, from fear of divine vengeance.