Periklymenus (son of Neleus)

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Periklymenos ( Greek  Περικλύμενος ) is in Greek mythology the eldest son of Neleus , king of Pylos , and Chloris , daughter of Amphion , king of Orchomenos . He is a brother of Nestor , Chromios and Pero . His son was either Penthilus or Erginos .

Periklymenus was a participant in the Argonautical voyage, famous for his bravery . His grandfather Poseidon gave him the ability, as a shape- shifter, to take on the shape of any animal or tree. When Heracles fights against Pylos, Periclymenus takes on the form of a bee to attack Heracles, after he had previously shown himself in the form of a lion and a serpent. However, on the instructions of Athenas , he is killed by Heracles. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid has his brother Nestor report on how Periklymenus last assumed the shape of an eagle , Zeus ' heraldic animal , who was wounded in flight by an arrow shot by Heracles on the right wing and fatally struck the arrow through his left armpit when he fell . According to another tradition, he can escape as an eagle.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Homer , Odyssey 11, 281-287; Diodorus 4.68; Hyginus Mythographus , Fabulae 14; Library of Apollodor 1, 9, 9, who lists Tauros, Asterios, Pylaon, Deimachos, Eurybios, Epilaos, Phrasios, Eurymenes, Euagoras as other brothers.
  2. Pausanias 2,18,8.
  3. a b Hyginus Mythographus, Fabulae 10, probably a mix-up with Erigone , mother of Orestes son Penthilos .
  4. Apollonios of Rhodes , Argonautica 1,157-159; Library of Apollodorus 2,7,3; Gaius Valerius Flaccus , Argonautica 1,388 ff.
  5. Apollonios of Rhodes, Argonautica 1,157-159; Library of Apollodorus 1,9,9; Ovid , Metamorphoses 12,556-572.
  6. Ovid, Metamorphoses 12,565-572.