Antilochus
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, Antilochus (also transliterated
as Antilochos or Antílokhos - Ἀντίλοχος) was the son of Nestor
, king of Pylos
. One of the suitors of Helen of Troy, he accompanied his father and his brother Thrasymedes
to the Trojan War
. He was distinguished for his beauty, swiftness of foot, and skill as a charioteer. Though the youngest among the Greek princes, he commanded the Pylians in the war and performed many deeds of valour. He was a favorite of the gods and a friend of Achilles
, to whom he was commissioned to announce the death of Patroclus
.
When Nestor was attacked by Memnon
, he saved his life by sacrificing Antilochus thus fulfilling an oracle which had warned to "beware of an Ethiopian." Antilochus' death was avenged by Achilles. According to other accounts, he was slain by Hector or by Paris
in the temple of the Thymbraean Apollo
together with Achilles His ashes, along with those of Achilles and Patroclus, were enshrined in a mound on the promontory of Sigeion
, where the inhabitants of Ilium
offered sacrifice to the dead heroes. In the Odyssey
, the three friends are represented as united in the underworld and walking together in the Asphodel Meadows
. According to Pausanias
, they dwell together on the island of Leuke. Among the Trojans he killed were Melanippus
, Ablerus, Atymnius, Phalces, and Thoon, although Hyginus records that he only killed two Trojans. At the funeral games of Patroclus, Antilochus finished second in the chariot race and third in the foot race.
Antilochus left behind in Messenia
a son Paeon
, whose descendants were among the Neleidae expelled from Messenia, by the descendants of Heracles
.
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...
, Antilochus (also transliterated
Transliteration
Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...
as Antilochos or Antílokhos - Ἀντίλοχος) was the son of Nestor
Nestor (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nestor of Gerenia was the son of Neleus and Chloris and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's siblings...
, king of Pylos
Pylos
Pylos , historically known under its Italian name Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It was the capital of the former...
. One of the suitors of Helen of Troy, he accompanied his father and his brother Thrasymedes
Thrasymedes (mythology)
You may be looking for Thrasymedes of Paros, the sculptor.In Greek mythology Thrasymedes was a participant in the Trojan War, where he killed two people...
to the Trojan War
Trojan War
In 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...
. He was distinguished for his beauty, swiftness of foot, and skill as a charioteer. Though the youngest among the Greek princes, he commanded the Pylians in the war and performed many deeds of valour. He was a favorite of the gods and a friend of Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
, to whom he was commissioned to announce the death of Patroclus
Patroclus
In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , was the son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade and brother-in-arms....
.
When Nestor was attacked by Memnon
Memnon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Memnon was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense. The death of Memnon echoes that of Hector, another defender of Troy whom Achilles also...
, he saved his life by sacrificing Antilochus thus fulfilling an oracle which had warned to "beware of an Ethiopian." Antilochus' death was avenged by Achilles. According to other accounts, he was slain by Hector or by Paris
Paris (mythology)
Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
in the temple of the Thymbraean Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
together with Achilles His ashes, along with those of Achilles and Patroclus, were enshrined in a mound on the promontory of Sigeion
Sigeion
Sigeion was a Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander . Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aegean Sea and the Scamander which is now known as Yenişehir and is a part of the Çanakkale district in Çanakkale province, Turkey...
, where the inhabitants of Ilium
Ilium
-Places:* Ilion or, Latinized, Ilium, another name for the legendary city of Troy, hence the title of Homer's Iliad*Ilium , an ancient city in Epirus...
offered sacrifice to the dead heroes. In the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, the three friends are represented as united in the underworld and walking together in the Asphodel Meadows
Asphodel Meadows
The Asphodel Meadows is a section of the Ancient Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death.-Geography:...
. According to 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...
, they dwell together on the island of Leuke. Among the Trojans he killed were Melanippus
Melanippus
In Greek mythology, there were nine people named Melanippus :#One of the sons of Agrius, killed by Diomedes.#Son of Perigune and Theseus, the father of Ioxus who, together with Ornytus, led a colony to Caria and became the ancestor of the family Ioxides.#Son of Astacus, defended Thebes in Seven...
, Ablerus, Atymnius, Phalces, and Thoon, although Hyginus records that he only killed two Trojans. At the funeral games of Patroclus, Antilochus finished second in the chariot race and third in the foot race.
Antilochus left behind in Messenia
Messenia
Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...
a son Paeon
Paeon (son of Antilochus)
In Greek mythology, Paeon was the son of Antilochus, and a lord of Messenia. His father was one of the suitors of Helen, who together with his father Nestor, the king of Pylos, and brother Thrasymedes, fought in the Trojan War...
, whose descendants were among the Neleidae expelled from Messenia, by the descendants of 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...
.
Sources
- Homer. OdysseyOdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
, IV, 188. - Homer. IliadIliadThe 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...
, XXIII, 423, 541, 556. - PausaniasPausanias (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...
, Description of Greece. W. H. S. Jones (translator). Loeb Classical LibraryLoeb Classical LibraryThe Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by Harvard University Press, which presents important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each...
. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1918). Vol. 1. Books I–II: ISBN 0-674-99104-4.