Cepheus, King of Tegea

In Greek mythology, Cepheus (/ˈsiːfiəs, -fjuːs/; Greek: Κηφεύς Kephéus) was the son of Aleus and Neaera or Cleobule, and brother of Amphidamas, Lycurgus of Arcadia, Auge and Alcidice. He and his brother Amphidamas are counted among the Argonauts.[1]

Cepheus succeeded his father as the king of Tegea, Arcadia. He had twenty sons (one of whom was named Aeropus)[2] and at least three daughters, Sterope,[3] Aerope[4] and Antinoe.[5] Cepheus and his sons joined Heracles in his campaign against Hippocoon, while Sterope was given by Heracles a lock of Medusa to protect Tegea in the absence of men. According to various authors, Cepheus lost either all or seventeen of his sons, and himself was killed in that campaign.[6]

The city of Caphyae was believed to have received its name from Cepheus.[7]

Cepheus was said to be the founder of the town of Kyrenia in Cyprus.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Bibliotheca 1.9.16; Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1. 161; Hyginus, Fabulae, 14
  2. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.5.1.
  3. ↑ Also known as Asterope (Suda s. v. πλόκιον Γοργάδος). The fluctuation is the same as in the case of Sterope (Pleiad)
  4. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.44.7.
  5. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.8.4.
  6. ↑ Bibliotheca 2.7.3; Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4. 33. 5
  7. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.23.3.
  8. ↑ Hill (2010), p. 87.

References

  • Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Hill, George, A History of Cyprus, Volume 1, Cambridge University Press, 2010. ISBN 9781108020626.
  • Hyginus, Gaius Julius, The Myths of Hyginus. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
  • Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
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