Nauplius (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nauplius (Greek: Ναύπλιος) was the name of two characters, one descended from the other. The name may originally have been applied to one character, the founder of the city of Nauplia (modern Nafplion) in Argolis. Ancient mythographers realized that the birth of Nauplius I as a grandson of Danaus was incompatible with the stories connected to Nauplius as it relates to Palamedes and the Trojan War, which occurred many generations after Danaus ruled in Argolis. So a genealogy was created to link the two characters named Nauplius: Nauplius I - Proetus - Lernus - Naubolus - Clytoneus - Nauplius II. (Note that Proetus here is apparently not the same as Proetus, son of Abas).

Nauplius (son of Poseidon)

This Nauplius was the son of the god Poseidon by Amymone, daughter of Danaus. This Nauplius founded Nauplia and was married to Philyra, who bore him a son named Lernus.

Nauplius (son of Clytoneus)

Nauplius,son of Clytoneus

This is the more famous Nauplius, and was great-great-grandson of his namesake, the founder of Nauplia. Like Nauplius I, Nauplius II also ruled over Nauplia (although other accounts say he ruled in Euboea). The Cretan king Catreus suspected his daughter Clymene of plotting against him, so he handed her over to Nauplius to sell. Instead, Nauplius married her; Clymene later bore to Nauplius two sons, named Palamedes and Oeax.

According to Apollodorus Palamedes fought in the Trojan War, but he died as a result of Odysseus' intrigues. Nauplius went to Troy to demand justice for the death of his son, however no one listened to him and everyone supported Agamemnon who helped Odysseus kill Palamedes. Consequently, Nauplius swore revenge against King Agamemnon and the other Greek leaders. According to Apollodorus, when the Greeks were sailing home from Troy after the close of the war, Nauplius lit beacon fires along the perilous coastline of Euboea, and many ships were shipwrecked as a result.^[1] Before this point, he also convinced many of the lonely wives of the Greek commanders to be unfaithful to their husbands, and to conspire against them - including Clytemnestra, (Agamemnon's wife) who joined with Aigisthos, and Meda, (wife of Idomeneus) who was unfaithful with Leucos. Leucos killed Meda and her daughter Cleisithyra and drove out Idomeneus out when he had returned from Troy.^[2]

This Nauplius was counted among the Argonauts.

References

1. ^ Apollodorus, Library, 2.1
2. ^ Ipg 86 Apollodorus, and Hyginus. Apollodorus' Library and Hyginus' Fabulae: Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology. Trans. R. Scott Smith and Stephen Trzaskoma. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 2007