Echetos
Echetus ( Greek Ἔχετος ) is a figure in Greek mythology who is mentioned for the first time in the Homeric Odyssey . Echetos is a cruel and violent king.
Lore
In the Odyssey Echetus is mentioned three times with the epithet "Terror of all mortals" (βροτῶν δηλήμονα πάντων). The suitor Antinous threatens the beggar Iros with sending him "to the mainland" or "to Epeiros " (ἤπειρόνδε) if he does not engage in the promised duel with Odysseus disguised as a beggar . After Iros has gone down and put in front of the door, the suitors announce that they will actually send him to Echetos soon. When Odysseus in disguise later wants to take part in the suitors' archery competition, Antinous threatens him to do the same if he draws the bow.
At the first threat, Antinous describes what lies ahead of the people who fall into the hands of Echetus:
"This one will cut off your nose and ears with a merciless blade,
And will tear out your genitals and throw the dogs raw to eat."
The geographer Mnaseas (200 v. Chr.) Saw Echetos a king of the Siculi .
literature
- August Schultz : Echetos . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,1, Leipzig 1886, column 1212 ( digitized version ).
- Karl Tümpel : Echetos 1. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume V, 2, Stuttgart 1905, Col. 1916 f.