Erginus (king of Minyans)
In Greek mythology, Erginus /ˈɜːrdʒɪnəs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἐργῖνος) was king of Minyan Orchomenus in Boeotia.
Family
Erginus was the son of Clymenus, his predecessor, and Buzyge (or Budeia)[1] and his brothers were Arrhon, Azeus, Pyleus, and Stratius.[2] Some authors[3] identify him with another Erginus, a Milesian Argonaut.
Mythology
Erginus avenged his father's death at the hands of Perieres, charioteer of Menoeceus of Thebes; he made war against Thebans, inflicting a heavy defeat. The Thebans were compelled to pay King Erginus a tribute of 100 oxen per year for twenty years. However, the tribute ended earlier than Erginus expected, when Heracles attacked the Minyan emissaries sent to exact the tribute. This prompted a second war between Orchomenus and Thebes, only this time Thebes (under the leadership of Heracles) was victorious, and a double tribute was imposed on the Orchomenians.[4] Erginus was slain in battle according to the version of the story given by most ancient writers (e.g., the Bibliotheca, Strabo,[5] Eustathius). But according to Pausanias, Erginus was spared by Heracles and lived to a ripe old age, and even fathered two sons (Trophonius and Agamedes) on a younger woman.[6][7]
References
- Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1.185; Eustathius on Homer, 1076.26
- Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.37.1
- Pindar. Olympian Ode, 4.19
- Pseudo-Apollodorus. Bibliotheca, Book 2.4.11; Diodorus Siculus. Library of History, 4.10.3–5; Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.17.2 & 9.37.2
- Strabo. Geography, 9.2.40
- Pausanias. Description of Greece, 9.37.4
- Homeric Hymns to Apollo, 295ff
Sources
- William Smith. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. s.v. Erginus. London (1848).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.