Epeius
Encyclopedia
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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- A Greek soldier during 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...
. He was the son of Panopeus and had the reputation for being a coward. In the 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...
he participated in the boxing match at the funeral games for PatroclesPatroclesPatrocles name may refer to:*Patroclus *Patrocles of Thurii tragic poet 5th c.BC*Patrocles teacher of rhetoric mentioned by Quintilian*Patrocles Macedonian general and writer under Seleucus and Antiochus...
against EuryalusEuryalusEuryalus refers to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature:#In the Aeneid by Virgil, Nisus and Euryalus are ideal friends and lovers, who died during a raid on the Rutulians.# Euryalus was the son of Mecisteus...
and won. Later during the funeral games for Achilleus he fought AcamasAcamasAcamas was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer....
the son of TheseusTheseusFor other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
to a stalemate. He built the Trojan HorseTrojan HorseThe Trojan Horse is a tale from the Trojan War about the stratagem that allowed the Greeks finally to enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside...
, commissioned by OdysseusOdysseusOdysseus 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....
because AthenaAthenaIn 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...
had told him in a dream she would be with him to help build it. The horse was hollow and was large enough to hold 30 Greek soldiers equipped with all their armor but Epeius made the Trojan horse so tall that it could not fit through any of the gates of Troy. The trap door of the horse was fastened with a special catch that only Epeius could undo. After constructing the massive horse, he chose the other 29 soldiers that would accompany him inside the horse. He also founded PisaPisa (Greece)Pisa was the name of an ancient town in the western Peloponnese, Greece. The area controlled by Pisa was called Pisatis, which included Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games. Pisa and Pisatis were subjugated by Elis in 572 BC. Currently, it is a village within the municipality of Olympia...
and MetapontumMetapontumMetapontum, Metapontium or Metapontion , was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus . It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum...
. - Son of King EndymionEndymion (mythology)In Greek mythology, Endymion , was variously a handsome Aeolian shepherd or hunter or a king who ruled and was said to reside at Olympia in Elis, but he was also said to reside and was venerated on Mount Latmus in Caria, on the west coast of Asia Minor....
of ElisElisElis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
. He ran a race at OlympiaOlympia, GreeceOlympia , 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...
, against his brothers AetolusAetolus (son of Endymion)Aetolus was, in Greek mythology, a son of Endymion, grandson of Deucalion, and the nymph Neïs, or Iphianassa. According to Pausanias, his mother was called Asterodia, Chromia, or Hyperippe. He was married to Pronoe, by whom he had two sons, Pleuron and Calydon. His brothers were Paeon, Epeius, and...
and PaeonPaeon (son of Endymion)Paeon in Greek mythology was a son of Endymion, king of Elis, and brother of Epeius, Aetolus, and Eurycyda; from whom the district of Paeonia, on the Axius river in Macedonia, was believed to have derived its name.-References:...
, winning his father's kingdom. He was married to Anaxiroe, daughter of Coronus, and had one daughter, HyrmineHyrmineIn Greek mythology, Hyrmine was a daughter of Neleus, Nycteus, or, according to others, of Epeius and Anaxiroe, and sister of Alector . She was the wife of Phorbas and by him the mother of the Argonauts Augeas, Actor and Tiphys. The natural father of Augeas by her may have been Helios.-References:...
. OenomausOenomausIn Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa, the father of Hippodamia, was the son of Ares, either by the naiad Harpina or by Sterope, one of the Pleiades, whom some identify as his consort instead...
was his contemporary.
Alternative spelling of "Epeus" may also be encountered.