- Ancaeus
The name Ancaeus or Ankaios (Ἀγκαῖος) is attributed to two heroes in
Greek mythology . Both were among theArgonauts , and each met his death at the tusks of a boar. They are often confused with one another.Ancaeus of Arcadia
Ancaeus, son of King Lycurgus of
Arcadia , was both an Argonaut and a participant in theCalydonian Boar hunt, in which he met his end. His arms were ominously hidden at home, but he set forth, dressed in a bearskin and armed only with a "labrys " (λάβρυς "doubled-bladed axe"). His wife was namedIotis , and his mother was eitherCleophyle orEurynome . Ancaeus' sonAgapenor led the Arcadian forces during theTrojan War .Ancaeus of Samos
Ancaeus was king of the island of Samos, and an
Argonaut : helmsmanship was his special skill. ["Argonautica", 2.866ff.] He was a son ofPoseidon andAstypalaea , and brother ofEurypylus . ["Argonautica", 1.186.] By other accounts his father was the Lelegian kingAltes , which accords well with Ancaeus's rule over theLeleges of Samos. According to a lost epic of his house, sung by the Samian poet Asios, he married Samia, daughter of the river godMaeander , who bore him Perilaus, Enudus, Samus, Alitherses, and Parthenope, the mother ofLycomedes . [Pausanias. "Description of Greece", 7.4.1.] The most famous story surrounding this Ancaeus is the following: When planting a vineyard, for Samos was famed for its wine, he was told by a seer that he would never taste its wine. Ancaeus then joined the voyage of the Argonauts, and returned home safely, by which time the grapes were ripe and had been made into wine. He summoned the seer before him, and raised a cup of his own wine to his lips, and was ready to taste it for the first time. He then mocked the seer, who retorted, "There is many a slip between cup and the lip". Before Ancaeus had tasted the wine, an alarm was raised that a wild boar was ravaging the vineyard, and on hearing this, Ancaeus dropped the cup and went out to investigate - and was promptly killed by the boar. [Pausanias. "Description of Greece", 1.30.4 and 5.15.6.]References
External links
* [http://www.theoi.com/Erotes/Poseidon+Astypalaia.html Theioi Project - Poseidon and Astypalaia]
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