Lycomedes of Scyros

In Greek mythology, Lycomedes /ˌlaɪkəˈmiːdiːz/ (Ancient Greek: Λυκομήδης), also known as Lycurgus, was the most prominent king of the Dolopians in the island of Scyros near Euboea during the Trojan War.

For other uses, see Lycomedes (mythology).
Lycomedes
AbodeSkyros
Personal information
Parentsunknown
Siblings-
Consortunknown
Offspringseven daughters including Deidamia

Family

Lycomedes was the father of seven daughters including Deidameia, and grandfather of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus.

"Achilles at the Court of Lycomedes" by Pompeo Batoni, 1745, oil on canvas, Uffizi, Florence

Mythology

Death of Theseus

Plutarch says that Lycomedes killed Theseus, who had fled to his island in exile by pushing him off a cliff for he feared that Theseus would dethrone him, as people of the island treated the guest with marked honor. Some related that the cause of this violence was that Lycomedes would not give up the estates which Theseus had in Scyros, or the circumstance that Lycomedes wanted to gain the favour of Menestheus.[1]

Achilles
Main article: Achilles on Skyros
Achilles at the court of King Lycomedes, panel of an Attic sarcophagus, ca. 240 AD, Louvre

At the request of Thetis, Lycomedes concealed Achilles in female disguise among his own daughters. At Lycomedes' court, Achilles had an affair with Deidamia, which resulted in the birth of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus). As Odysseus drew Achilles out of his disguise and took him to Troy, Neoptolemus stayed with his grandfather until he too was summoned during the later stages of the war.[2]

A Roman mosaic from the Poseidon Villa in Zeugma, Commagene (now in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum) depicting Achilles on Skyros disguised as a woman and Odysseus tricking him into revealing himself

Namesake

The asteroid 9694 Lycomedes is named for him – being a Jupiter Trojan, a group of asteroids which are by convention named for characters associated with the Trojan War.

Notes
  1. Plutarch, Theseus 35.3; Pausanias, 1.17.6; Tzetzes on Lycophron, 1324.
  2. Apollodorus, 3.13.8.

References
  • Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
  • 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. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
  • Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Pseudo-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. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
  • Media related to Lycomedes at Wikimedia Commons
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