Autolycus (mythology)
Autolykos ( Greek Αὐτόλυκος , Latinized Autolycus) is a thief in Greek mythology .
As the son of the god Hermes and the Chione , he was under his protection and surpassed all other people in thieving skills. He was the grandfather of Odysseus on his mother's side, who inherited his cunning. Autolykos' father gave him the ability to change the appearance of anything he stole and never get caught. Autolykos stole Sisyphus ' cattle , but was outwitted because he had marked the animals under their hooves and followed the tracks to Autolykos' stables.
Autolycus stole the leather boar's tusk helmet of Amyntor . The helmet passed into the possession of Odysseus via Amphidamas , Molos and Meriones .
literature
- Richard Barber: A Companion to World Mythology . Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth (Middlesex, England) 1979, p. 30
- Georg Ferdinand Dümmler : Autolykos 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Col. 2600 f.
- Ludwig von Sybel : Autolykos 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1.1, Leipzig 1886, Col. 735 f. ( Digitized version ).