Lynkeus (son of Aegyptus)
Lynkeus ( Greek Λυνκεύς ) is in Greek mythology the son of Aegyptus and Argyphie .
At the mass wedding of the 50 sons of the Egyptian king Aigyptus with the 50 Danaids , the daughters of Danaos , he married the eldest daughter Hypermestra . Danaos gave daggers to all daughters and instructed them to kill their husbands on their wedding night. So all his brothers were killed, only he was spared, and Hypermestra let him escape. From a safe distance he gave a signal with a torch, which Hypermestra from Mount Larissa returned. An ancient torch festival that was celebrated in Argos is said to go back to this event .
Because she spared her husband, Hypermestra was charged by her father, but acquitted by the argivers. Danaos later tolerated the association between Hypermestra and Lynkeus, and after his death Lynkeus became king of Argos. Abas , the son of Lynkeus and Hypermestra, ascended the throne of Argos after him.
Lynkeus is said to have founded games in honor of the goddess Hera , in which the winner received a shield as a trophy. He and his wife were later worshiped as heroes in Argos .
swell
- Library of Apollodorus , 2, 16; 2, 21-24.
- Herodotus , Histories , 2, 91.
- Hesiod , Ehoien , 135, 1.
- Hesiod, The Shield of Heracles , 327.
- Pausanias , travels in Greece , 2, 16, 1 - 2; 2, 19, 6; 2, 21, 1-2; 2, 25, 4.
literature
- Konrad Seeliger : Lynkeus 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 2.2, Leipzig 1897, Col. 2206 f. ( Digitized version ).
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Danaos |
King of Argos 14th century BC Chr. (Fictional chronology) |
Abas |