Macareus of Rhodes
In Greek mythology, Macareus (Ancient Greek: Μακαρεύς, Makareus means "happy"[1]) was one of the Heliadae, sons of Helios and Rhodos. Macareus and his brothers, Triopas, Actis and Candalus, were jealous of a fifth brother, Tenages's, skill at science, so they killed him and had to escape from Rhodes upon discovery of their crime. (The two Heliadae Ochimus and Cercaphus stayed aside and remained on the island of Rhodes).[2]
Mythology
Macareus fled to Lesbos, where he became king, and took over many of the neighboring islands. Lesbos, son of Lapithes and grandson of Aeolus, after whom the island came to be named, married Macareus' daughter, Methymna (eponym of Methymna, a city at Lesbos);[3] alternately, Methymna married Lepetymnus, eponym of a mountain on Lesbos,[4] and had by him two sons, Hicetaon and Hypsipylus, who were slain by Achilles during the sack of the city of Methymna.[5] Among Macareus' other daughters were Mytilene, Agamede, Antissa, and Arisbe, all eponyms of cities at Lesbos.[6] His sons were entrusted by him the leadership of the colonies he founded on the neighbouring islands: Cydrolaus was sent to Samos, Neandrus to Cos, Leucippus to Rhodes (where the colonists mixed with the local population), and an unnamed son to Chios.[7] Yet another son of Macareus, Eresus, gave his name to a town on Lesbos (modern Eresos).[8]
Notes
- Robert Graves. The Greek Myths, section 43 s.v. The Sons of Hellen
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.57.2
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.81
- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica s.v. Methymna
- Parthenius, Erotica Pathemata 21
- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica s.v. Mytilene; Agamede; Antissa; Arisbe
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.81.8
- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica s.v. Eresos
References
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Parthenius, Love Romances translated by Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882-1943), S. Loeb Classical Library Volume 69. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1916. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Parthenius, Erotici Scriptores Graeci, Vol. 1. Rudolf Hercher. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1858. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Stephanus of Byzantium, Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt, edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling. Online version at the Topos Text Project.