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Arcas

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For other uses, seeArcas (disambiguation).

InGreek mythology,Arcas(/ˈɑːrkəs/;Ancient Greek:Ἀρκάς) was a hunter who became king ofArcadia.He was remembered for having taught people the arts of weaving and baking bread and for spreading agriculture to Arcadia.

Family[edit]

Arcas was the son ofZeusandCallisto[1].In other accounts, his birth mother was calledMegisto,daughter ofCeteus,son ofLycaon,[2]or elseThemisto,daughter ofInachus[3].

Arcas was married to eitherLaodamia(Leaneira), daughter ofAmyclas of Sparta;Meganeira,daughter ofCrocon;[4]thenymphChrysopeleia;or theDryadErato.He also left a number of children, including the sonsAzan,Apheidas,Elatus,andTriphylus,[5]an illegitimate sonAutolaus[6]and at least two daughters,Hyperippe[7]andDiomeneia.[8]Arcas's other sons wereErymanthus[9]andPelasgus.[10]

Comparative table of Arcas' family
Relation Names Sources
Apollodorus' Bibliotheca Pausanias' Description of Greece
Parents Callisto and Zeus ✓ ✓
Wife Leanira ✓
Meganira ✓
Chrysopelia ✓
Erato ✓
Laodameia ✓
Unknown ✓
Children Elatus ✓ ✓
Apheidas ✓ ✓
Azan ✓
Triphylus ✓
Pelasgus ✓
Hyperippe ✓
Diomeneia ✓
Erymanthus ✓
Autolaus ✓

Mythology[edit]

Callisto was a nymph in theretinueof the goddessArtemis,or in some sources the daughter of KingLycaon.As she would not be with anyone but Artemis, Zeus cunningly disguised himself as Artemis and raped Callisto. The child resulting from their union was called Arcas.[11][12][13]

Herabecame jealous, and in anger, she transformed Callisto into abear.She would have done the same or worse to her son, but Zeus hid Arcas in an area ofGreece,which would come to be calledArcadia,in his honor. Arcas was given into a care of one of thePleiades,Maia. There, Arcas safely lived until one day, during one of the court feasts held by kingLycaon(Arcas' maternal grandfather), Arcas was placed upon the burning altar as a sacrifice to the gods. He then said to Zeus, "If you think that you are so clever, make your son whole and un-harmed". Zeus became enraged and made Arcas whole and directed his anger toward Lycaon, turning him into the firstwerewolf.[14][15]

Then, Arcas became the new king of Arcadia and the country's greatesthunter.One day, when Arcas went hunting in the woods, he came across his mother. Seeing her son after so long, she went forth to embrace him. Not knowing that the bear was his mother, he went to kill her with anarrow.In one version of the story, Arcas hunted Callisto because she had entered the forbidden sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion.[16]Zeus however, watching over them, stopped Arcas from shooting Callisto and raised them into the heavens as constellations (Boötes[17]andUrsa Major). When Hera heard of that, she became so angry that she askedTethysto keep them in a certain place so that the constellations would never sink below the horizon and receive water.[18]Arcas’ bones were brought from Mount Maenalos to an altar of Hera inMantineaaccording to the instructions of the Delphic Oracle.[19]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Hyginus,Fabulae155
  2. ^Hyginus,De astronomia2.1.6,and2.6.2,withAraethus of Tegeaas authority
  3. ^EustathiusadHomer,Iliadp. 300;Stephanus of Byzantium,s.v.Arcadia (Ἀρκαδία);Pseudo-Clement,Recognitions10.21
  4. ^Apollodorus,3.9.1
  5. ^Apollodorus,3.9.1;Pausanias,8.4.1-2 & 10.9.5
  6. ^Pausanias, 8.4.2 & 8.25.11
  7. ^Pausanias, 5.1.4
  8. ^Pausanias, 8.9.9
  9. ^Pausanias, 8.24.1
  10. ^Pausanias, 2.14.4
  11. ^Apollodorus,3.8.2
  12. ^Pausanias,8.3.6
  13. ^Hyginus,Fabulae176
  14. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses2.401 ff.
  15. ^Ovid,Fasti2.155 ff.
  16. ^Pseudo-Eratosthenes,Catast.fr. 1
  17. ^Ridpath 1988, p. 35
  18. ^Ovid,Metamorphoses2.496 ff.
  19. ^Pausanias 8.9.3

References[edit]

  • Apollodorus,The Librarywith 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.
  • Gaius Julius Hyginus,Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginustranslated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
  • Pausanias,Description of Greecewith 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.ISBN0-674-99328-4.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
  • Pausanias,Graeciae Descriptio.3 vols.Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Publius Ovidius Naso,Fastitranslated by James G. Frazer.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
  • Publius Ovidius Naso,Fasti.Sir James George Frazer. London; Cambridge, MA. William Heinemann Ltd.; Harvard University Press. 1933.Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Publius Ovidius Naso,Metamorphosestranslated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Publius Ovidius Naso,Metamorphoses.Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892.Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Ridpath, Ian (1988).Star Tales.Universe Books.
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