Editing Aeacus

{{Short description|Ancient Greek mythological ruler of the Myrmidons and judge of the dead}}
{{for|the butterfly|Troides aeacus}}
{{redirect|Eacus|the Iberian deity|Eacus (god)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Aeacus
| deity_of = King of [[Aegina]]
| member_of = Judges of the [[Greek Underworld|Underworld]]
| image = Aeacus telemon.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = ''Aeacus and Telamon'' by Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune
| other_names = 
| affiliation = 
| cult_center = 
| abode = Aegina
| consort = (1) [[Endeïs]], (2) [[Psamathe (Nereid)|Psamathe]], (3) ''unknown''
| parents = [[Zeus]] and (1) [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]] or (2) [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]]
| siblings = (1) [[Damocrateia]], (1) [[Menoetius]] (half-brother); (2) [[Minos]], [[Rhadamanthus|Rhadamanthys]] and [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)#Brother of Minos|Sarpedon]]
| offspring = (1) [[Telamon]] and [[Peleus]], (2) [[Phocus of Aegina|Phocus]], (3) [[Alcimache]]
| predecessor = 
| successor = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
| Etruscan_equivalent = 
}}
{{Greek underworld}}

'''Aeacus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|iː|ə|k|ə|s}}; also spelled '''Eacus'''; [[Ancient Greek]]: Αἰακός) was a king of the island of [[Aegina]] in [[Greek mythology]]. He was a son of [[Zeus]] and the nymph [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], and the father of the heroes [[Peleus]] and [[Telamon]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 1.9.16]</ref> According to legend, he was famous for his justice, and after he died he became one of the three judges in the [[Greek underworld|underworld]] alongside [[Minos]] and [[Rhadamanthus]]. In another story, he assisted [[Poseidon]] and [[Apollo]] in building the walls of [[Troy]].

He had sanctuaries in Athens and Aegina, and the Aeginetan festival of the Aeacea (Αἰάκεια) was celebrated in his honour.

==Mythology==
[[File:Virgil solis ovid metamorphosen7 11.png|left|thumb|''Myrmidons; People from ants for King Aeacus,'' engraving by [[Virgil Solis]] for Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' Book VII, 622–642. ]]

=== Birth and early days ===
Aeacus was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, where his mother Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents; afterward, this island became known as [[Aegina]].<ref name=":0">Apollodorus, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.12.6 3.12.6]; Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]; Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]] (aka Ajax the Greater). In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2" /> Aeacus' sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3"/><ref>[[Strabo]], 8 p. 375</ref> Some traditions related that, at the time when Aeacus was born, [[Aegina]] was not yet inhabited, and that Zeus either changed the ants (μύρμηκες) of the island into the men ([[Myrmidons]]) over whom Aeacus ruled, or he made the men grow up out of the earth.<ref name=":0" /> [[Ovid]], on the other hand, supposed that the island was not uninhabited at the time of the birth of Aeacus, instead stating that during the reign of Aeacus, [[Hera]], jealous of Aegina, ravaged the island bearing the name of the latter by sending a plague or a fearful [[dragon]] into it, by which nearly all its inhabitants were carried off. Afterward, Zeus restored the population by changing the ants into men.<ref name=":2" />

These legends seem to be a mythical account of the colonization of Aegina, which seems to have been originally inhabited by [[Pelasgians]], and afterwards received colonists from [[Phthiotis]], the seat of the Myrmidons, and from [[Phlius]] on the [[Asopus]]. While he reigned in Aegina, Aeacus was renowned in all Greece for his justice and piety, and was frequently called upon to settle disputes not only among men, but even among the gods themselves.<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Isthmian Odes'' 8.48; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.39.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 1.39.6]</ref> He was such a favourite with the latter, that when Greece was visited by a [[drought]] as a consequence of a murder that had been committed, the oracle of Delphi declared that the calamity would not cease unless Aeacus prayed to the gods to end it.<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 3.12.6], [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#61.1 4.61.1]</ref> Aeacus prayed, and as a result, the drought ceased. Aeacus then demonstrated his gratitude by erecting a temple to ''Zeus Panhellenius'' on Mount Panhellenion,<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.30.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.30.4]</ref> and afterward, the Aeginetans built a sanctuary on their island called Aeaceum, which was a square temple enclosed by walls of white marble. Aeacus was believed in later times to be buried under the altar of this [[sacred enclosure]].<ref name="Pausanias, ii. 29. § 6">Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.29.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.29.6]</ref>

=== Later adventures ===
A legend preserved in [[Pindar]] relates that [[Apollo]] and [[Poseidon]] took Aeacus as their assistant in building the walls of [[Troy]].<ref>Pindar, ''Olympian Odes'' 8.39</ref> When the work was completed, three [[dragon]]s rushed against the wall, and though the two that attacked the sections of the wall built by the gods fell down dead, the third forced its way into the city through the portion of the wall built by Aeacus. Thereafter, Apollo prophesied that Troy would fall at the hands of Aeacus's descendants, the Aeacidae (i.e. his sons Telamon and Peleus joined [[Heracles]] when he sieged the city during Laomedon's rule. Later, his great-grandson Neoptolemus was present in the wooden horse).

Aeacus was also believed by the Aeginetans to have surrounded their island with high cliffs in order to protect it against [[piracy|pirates]].<ref name="Pausanias, ii. 29. § 6"/> Several other incidents connected to the story of Aeacus are mentioned by [[Ovid]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 7.506 & 9.435</ref> By [[Endeïs]] Aeacus had two sons, [[Telamon]] (father of [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] and [[Teucer]]) and [[Peleus]] (father of [[Achilles]]), and by [[Psamathe (Nereid)|Psamathe]] a son, [[Phocus of Aegina|Phocus]], whom he preferred to the former two sons, both of whom conspired to kill Phocus during a contest, and then subsequently fled from their native island.

=== In the afterlife ===
[[File:Mack, Ludwig, Die Unterwelt, mitte.jpg|left|thumb|''Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys'' by Ludwig Mack, Bildhauer]]

After his death, Aeacus became one of the three judges in Hades (along with his [[Minoan Crete|Cretan]] half-brothers [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Minos]])<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' 13.25; [[Horace]], ''[[Carmen Saeculare]]'' 2.13.22</ref> and, according to [[Plato]], was specifically concerned with the shades of Europeans upon their arrival to the underworld.<ref>Plato, ''Gorgias'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]; [[Isocrates]], ''Evagoras'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0144%3Aspeech%3D9%3Asection%3D15 15]</ref> In works of art he was depicted bearing a sceptre and the keys of Hades.<ref>Pindar, ''Isthmian Odes'' 7.47; Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 3.12.6]</ref> Aeacus had sanctuaries in both [[Athens]] and in [[Aegina]],<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.29.6&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Aeacus 2.29.6]; Scholia ad Pindar, ''Nemean Odes'' 13.155; [[Hesychius of Miletus|Hesychius]] ''s.v.''</ref> and the Aeginetans regarded him as the tutelary deity of their island and celebrated the [[Aeacea]] in his honor.<ref>Pindar, ''Nemean Odes'' 8.22</ref>

In ''[[The Frogs]]'' (405 BC) by [[Aristophanes]], [[Dionysus]] descends to Hades and proclaims himself to be [[Heracles]]. Aeacus, lamenting the fact that Heracles had stolen [[Cerberus]], sentences Dionysus to [[Acheron]] to be tormented by the hounds of [[Cocytus]], the [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]], the Tartesian eel, and Tithrasian Gorgons.

== Family ==
Aeacus was the son of [[Zeus]] by [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]], a daughter of the river-god [[Asopus]], and thus, brother of [[Damocrateia]].<ref>Pythaenetos, quoting the [[scholia]]st on [[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' 9.107</ref> In some accounts, his mother was [[Europa (consort of Zeus)|Europa]] and thus possible full-brother to [[Minos]], [[Rhadamanthus]] and [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]].<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D5%3Aentry%3Daeacus-bio-1 s.v. Aeacus]. Compare [[Plato]], ''[[Gorgias (dialogue)|Gorgias]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0178%3Atext%3DGorg.%3Asection%3D524a 524a]</ref> He was the father of [[Peleus]], [[Telamon]] and [[Phocus]] and was the grandfather of the [[Trojan War|Trojan war]] warriors [[Achilles]] and [[Telemonian Ajax]]. In some accounts, Aeacus had a daughter called [[Alcimache]] who bore [[Medon (mythology)|Medon]] to [[Oileus]] of [[Locris]].<ref name=":2">[[Scholia]] on [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 13.694</ref> Aeacus' sons Peleus and Telamon were jealous of Phocus and killed him. When Aeacus learned about the murder, he exiled Peleus and Telamon.<ref name=":3">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=12}}</ref> Aeacus' descendants are collectively known as Aeacidae ({{lang|grc|Αἰακίδαι}}).<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Aeacides |chapter-url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/acl3129.0001.001/37?page=root;rgn=full+text;size=100;view=image |editor-last1=Smith |editor-first1=William |editor-link1=William Smith (lexicographer) |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |title-link=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology |page=22 |volume=1 |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown, and Company |year=1867}}</ref> Several times in the ''Iliad'', Homer refers to Achilles as Αἰακίδης (Aiakides: II.860, 874; IX.184, 191, etc.). The [[List of kings of Epirus|kings of Epirus]] and [[Olympias]], mother to [[Alexander the Great]], claimed to be members of this lineage.

=== Family tree of Aeacidae ===
{{Tree chart/start}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | Aea |Aea=Aeacus<br />king of Aegina<br /><small>∞ 1.[[Endeïs]]<br />oread of mount Pelion<br />2.[[Psamathe (Nereid)]]</small>}}
{{Tree chart| | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| }}
{{Tree chart| | | Tel | | | | Pel | | Pho |Tel=(1) [[Telamon]]<br />king of Salamis|Pel=(1) [[Peleus]]<br /><small>∞ [[Thetis]]</small>|Pho=(2) [[Phocus of Aegina]]}}
{{Tree chart| |,|-|+|-|.| | | |!| | | | |}}
{{Tree chart| Aja |!| Teu | | Ach |Aja=[[Ajax the Great]]|Teu=[[Teucer]]|Ach=[[Achilles]]<br />king of Phthia<br /><small>∞ [[Deidamia (mythology)]]</small>}}
{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | |!| }}
{{Tree chart| | | Tra | | | | Neo |Tra=[[Trambelus]]|Neo=[[Neoptolemus]]/Pyrrhus<br />king of Epirus<br /><small>∞ [[Andromache]]</small>}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| }}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | Mol |Mol=[[Molossus (son of Neoptolemus)|Molossus]]<br />king of Epirus}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!| }}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | MOL |MOL=[[Molossians|MOLOSSIANS]]}}
{{Tree chart/end}}

==See also==
{{EB1911 poster|Aeacus}}
* [[Chinvat Bridge]], the bridge of the dead in Persian cosmology
* [[Sraosha]], [[Mithra]] and [[Rashnu]], guardians and judges of souls in Zoroastrian tradition

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==

* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[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&ndash;8. [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html 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. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0540 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. {{ISBN|0-674-99328-4}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0160 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Pindar]], ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DI. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Pindar, ''The Odes of Pindar'' including the Principal Fragments with an Introduction and an English Translation by Sir John Sandys, Litt.D., FBA. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1937. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0161%3Abook%3DI. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Ovid|Publius Ovidius Naso]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]], ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0104 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Strabo]], ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]

==Further reading==
* {{SmithDGRBM|title= Aeacus}}

==External links==
* {{commons-inline}}

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
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[[Category:Greek underworld]]
[[Category:Mythological Aeginetans]]
[[Category:Children of Zeus]]
[[Category:Greek judges of the dead]]
[[Category:Kings in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Kings of the Myrmidons]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]