Halirrhothius

Halirrhothius (/ˌhælɪˈroʊθiəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἁλιρρόθιος, romanized: Halirrhóthios, lit. 'sea-foam'^[1]) was the Athenian son of Poseidon and Euryte^[2] or Bathycleia^[3] in Greek mythology. He was also called the son of Perieres and husband of Alcyone who bore him two sons, Serus and Alazygus.^[4] Another son of Halirrhothius, Samos of Mantinea was the victor of the four-horse chariot during the first Olympic games established by Heracles.^[5]

Mythology

Statue of Ares

When Halirrhothius raped Alcippe, Ares's daughter by Aglaulus, Ares killed him. Ares was then tried for this in a court made up of his fellow gods. The trial was held on a hill adjacent to the Acropolis of Athens, known as the Areopagus. Ares was acquitted.^[2] According to the Parian Chronicle this event took place in 1532/1 BC during the reign of Cranaus.^[6]

In another version of the myth, Halirrhothius was sent by his father to cut down the olive that had grown out of the spear of Athena. As he raised his axe, it fell out of his hand and mortally wounded him. The olive was called "fatal" (moros in Greek, which was used as folk-etymology for moria, the name of the sacred olive trees) from that circumstance.^[7][8] Servius adds that Poseidon was in such great grief of his son's passing, that he accused Ares of murder, and the matter was settled on the Areopagus.^[9]

See also

• Tereus
• Proetus

Notes

1. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology by Robin Hard (2004). Based on H.J. Rose's Handbook of Greek Mythology. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 365. ISBN 0-203-44633-X.
2. Apollodorus, 3.14.2
3. Scholia on Pindar, Olympian Ode 10.83c
4. Scholia on Pindar, Olympian Ode 10.83 as cited in Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 64
5. Pindar, Olympian Odes 10.70
6. The Parian Marble, Fragment 3 (March 7, 2001). "Interleaved Greek and English text (translation by Gillian Newing)". Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
7. Scholia on Aristophanes, Clouds 1005
8. Wunder 1855, p. note on verse 703.
9. Servius On Virgil's Georgics 1.18

References

• 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. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004, ISBN 9780415186360. Google Books.
• Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Wunder, Eduard (1855). Sophocles' Oedipus rex, Oedipus Colonaeus, Electra, Antigone. Vol. I. London: Williams and Norgate.