He is mentioned in Book 18 of Homer's Odyssey, as well as in Book 21 in which he is described as the "destroyer of all mortals" by Antinous (one of the suitors).
In Book 18, the beggar Irus was threatened with being handed over to Echetus, who would then have had Irus' nose, ears and testes cut off and thrown to his dogs. The story also described how Echetus had a daughter, Metope, who had an intrigue with a lover; as a punishment Echetus mutilated the lover and blinded Metope by piercing her eyes with bronze needles. He then incarcerated her in a tower and gave her grains of bronze, promising that she would regain her sight when she had ground these grains into flour.[1][2]
It is thought that Echetus was a mythological creation, used to scare disobedient children or used as the villain in bedtime stories. An alternate theory is that Echetus was a real king around the time of Homer, and that he was quite deformed and possibly a cannibal; no evidence currently exists to support this theory, however.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
April 11, 2024
echetus, king, ancient, greek, Ἔχετος, greek, mythology, king, epirus, euchenor, phlogea, Φλόγεα, contents, mythology, theories, basis, notes, referencesmythology, edithe, mentioned, book, homer, odyssey, well, book, which, described, destroyer, mortals, antin. King Echetus ˈ ɛ k ɪ t e s Ancient Greek Ἔxetos in Greek mythology is king of Epirus and son of Euchenor and Phlogea Flogea Contents 1 Mythology 2 Theories on the basis of Echetus 3 Notes 4 ReferencesMythology editHe is mentioned in Book 18 of Homer s Odyssey as well as in Book 21 in which he is described as the destroyer of all mortals by Antinous one of the suitors In Book 18 the beggar Irus was threatened with being handed over to Echetus who would then have had Irus nose ears and testes cut off and thrown to his dogs The story also described how Echetus had a daughter Metope who had an intrigue with a lover as a punishment Echetus mutilated the lover and blinded Metope by piercing her eyes with bronze needles He then incarcerated her in a tower and gave her grains of bronze promising that she would regain her sight when she had ground these grains into flour 1 2 Eustathius and the scholia on this passage call the daughter and her lover Amphissa and Aechmodicus respectively 3 4 Theories on the basis of Echetus editIt is thought that Echetus was a mythological creation used to scare disobedient children or used as the villain in bedtime stories An alternate theory is that Echetus was a real king around the time of Homer and that he was quite deformed and possibly a cannibal no evidence currently exists to support this theory however Notes edit Homer Odyssey 18 85 18 116 amp 21 307 Apollonius of Rhodes Argonautica 4 1093 George W Mooney Commentary on Apollonius Argonautica 4 1093 Eustathius Commentaries on Homer p 1839References editApollonius Rhodius Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton 1853 1915 R C Loeb Classical Library Volume 001 London William Heinemann Ltd 1912 Online version at the Topos Text Project Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica George W Mooney London Longmans Green 1912 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library Homer The Odyssey with an English Translation by A T Murray Ph D in two volumes Cambridge MA Harvard University Press London William Heinemann Ltd 1919 ISBN 978 0674995611 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Greek text available from the same website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Echetus amp oldid 1211167578, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
