Lycus (brother of Nycteus)
Encyclopedia
In Greek Mythology
, Lycus was a ruler of the ancient city of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)
. His rule was preceded by the regency of Nycteus
, and he was succeeded by the twins Amphion and Zethus
.
were the sons of either Chthonius, one of the Spartoi, or of the nymph Clonia and Hyrieus
, the son of Poseidon
and the Atlantid Alkyone, or of Poseidon and the Pleiad Celaeno
. The two brothers fled from Euboea
after they murdered King Phlegyas
, settling in Hyria and then moving to Thebes
, because they were friends with Pentheus
, its king.
, who married Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus. Nycteus served as regent
for Labdacus
, the son of Polydorus, when Polydorus died at a young age. Nycteus's daughter, Antiope
, was impregnated by Zeus
, and fled to Sicyon to marry King Epopeus
.
Pausanias
writes that Nycteus waged war on Epopeus, but in battle was wounded, and died after being carried back to Thebes, appointing Lycus as regent for Labdacus. Nycteus urged Lycus to continue to attack Epopeus, and to retake and punish Antiope. Epopeus died of a wound just as Nycteus did, and his heir Lamedon gave Antiope up freely to avoid war.
Apollodorus
, however, writes that Lycus was the one chosen regent after the deaths of Pentheus and Labdacus. Nycteus killed himself from shame when he discovered Antiope's pregnancy, and Lycus initiated the attack because he himself desired to punish her, successfully carrying her off after the battle.
In either case, Antiope gave birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus
on the way back to Thebes, at Mount Cithaeron. Lycus abandoned the babies, leaving them with shepherds.
Once he returned to Thebes, Lycus gave Antiope to his wife, Dirce
, who treated her cruelly. After many years Antiope escaped and found her sons, who returned to Thebes to kill Lycus and Dirce and take command of the city. According to Euripides, Hermes
forbade the twins from killing Lycus, although he forced Lycus to give them Thebes.
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...
, Lycus was a ruler of the ancient city of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)
Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)
See Thebes, Greece for the modern city built on the ancient ruins.Ancient Thebes was a Boeotian city-state , situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain...
. His rule was preceded by the regency of Nycteus
Nycteus
In Greek mythology, Nycteus was a king of Thebes. His rule began after the death of Polydorus, and ended when he was succeeded by his brother Lycus.-Genealogy:...
, and he was succeeded by the twins Amphion and Zethus
Amphion and Zethus
Amphion and Zethus , in ancient Greek mythology, were the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed the city's walls....
.
Genealogy
Lycus and his brother NycteusNycteus
In Greek mythology, Nycteus was a king of Thebes. His rule began after the death of Polydorus, and ended when he was succeeded by his brother Lycus.-Genealogy:...
were the sons of either Chthonius, one of the Spartoi, or of the nymph Clonia and Hyrieus
Hyrieus
In Greek mythology, Hyrieus was the son of Alcyone and Poseidon, brother of Hyperenor and Aethusa. By the nymph Clonia, he became the father of Nycteus and Lycus.. One source calls him father of Crinacus...
, the son of Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
and the Atlantid Alkyone, or of Poseidon and the Pleiad Celaeno
Celaeno
In Greek mythology, Celaeno referred to several different figures.*Celaeno, one of the Harpies, whom Aeneas encountered at Strophades. She gave him prophecies of his coming journeys.*Celaeno, one of the Pleiades...
. The two brothers fled from Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
after they murdered King Phlegyas
Phlegyas
Phlegyas , son of Ares and Chryse or Dotis, was king of the Lapiths in Greek mythology. He was the father of Ixion and Coronis, one of Apollo's lovers. While pregnant with Asclepius, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus. When a crow informed Apollo of the affair, he sent his sister...
, settling in Hyria and then moving to Thebes
Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)
See Thebes, Greece for the modern city built on the ancient ruins.Ancient Thebes was a Boeotian city-state , situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain...
, because they were friends with Pentheus
Pentheus
In Greek mythology, Pentheus was a king of Thebes, son of the strongest of the Spartes, Echion, and of Agave, daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and the goddess Harmonia....
, its king.
Regency of Thebes
Pentheus's successor was PolydorusPolydorus (son of Cadmus)
Polydorus was the only son of Cadmus and Harmonia and king of Thebes. His sisters were Semele, Ino, Agave, and Autonoë.Upon his father's death, Pentheus, the son of his sister Agave and Echion, one of the Spartoi, ruled Thebes. Pentheus, however, ruled only for a short time, before Dionysus caused...
, who married Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus. Nycteus served as regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
for Labdacus
Labdacus
In Greek mythology, Labdacus was the only son of Polydorus and a king of Thebes. Labdacus was a grandson of Thebes' founder, Cadmus. His mother was Nycteis, daughter of Nycteus. Polydorus died while Labdacus was a young child, leaving Nycteus as his regent, although Lycus soon replaced him in that...
, the son of Polydorus, when Polydorus died at a young age. Nycteus's daughter, Antiope
Antiope (mother of Amphion)
In Greek mythology, Antiope was the name of the daughter of the Boeotian river god Asopus, according to Homer; in later sources she is called the daughter of the "nocturnal" king Nycteus of Thebes or, in the Cypria, of Lycurgus, but for Homer her site is purely Boeotian. Her beauty attracted Zeus,...
, was impregnated by 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...
, and fled to Sicyon to marry King Epopeus
Epopeus
Epopeus was a mythical Greek king of Sicyon, with an archaic bird-name that linked him to epops , the hoopoe, the "watcher"...
.
Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
writes that Nycteus waged war on Epopeus, but in battle was wounded, and died after being carried back to Thebes, appointing Lycus as regent for Labdacus. Nycteus urged Lycus to continue to attack Epopeus, and to retake and punish Antiope. Epopeus died of a wound just as Nycteus did, and his heir Lamedon gave Antiope up freely to avoid war.
Apollodorus
Apollodorus
Apollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace...
, however, writes that Lycus was the one chosen regent after the deaths of Pentheus and Labdacus. Nycteus killed himself from shame when he discovered Antiope's pregnancy, and Lycus initiated the attack because he himself desired to punish her, successfully carrying her off after the battle.
In either case, Antiope gave birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus
Amphion and Zethus
Amphion and Zethus , in ancient Greek mythology, were the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. They are important characters in one of the two founding myths of the city of Thebes, because they constructed the city's walls....
on the way back to Thebes, at Mount Cithaeron. Lycus abandoned the babies, leaving them with shepherds.
Once he returned to Thebes, Lycus gave Antiope to his wife, Dirce
Dirce
Dirce was the wife of Lycus in Greek mythology, and aunt to Antiope whom Zeus impregnated. Antiope fled in shame to King Epopeus of Sicyon, but was brought back by Lycus through force, giving birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus on the way...
, who treated her cruelly. After many years Antiope escaped and found her sons, who returned to Thebes to kill Lycus and Dirce and take command of the city. According to Euripides, Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
forbade the twins from killing Lycus, although he forced Lycus to give them Thebes.