In Greek mythology, Actaeus (/ækˈtiːəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀκταῖος, lit. 'coast-man'[1]), also called Actaeon,[2] was the first king of Attica, according to Pausanias.[3]
Legend
Actaeus was said to have ruled over the kingdom of Attica, named Acte (Ἀκτή Akte) or Actica[2].
The ancient Parian Chronicle states that Actaeus gave Aktike[4] its name before it was changed to Cecropia by King Cecrops, and later became known as Attica. Another story tells that Atthis, a daughter of Cranaos, the king succeeding Cecrops in Athens, was Attica's namesake.
Actaeus (prior to 1582BC Parian) cannot be the same person as Aktaion (Grandson of Cadmus 1519BC Parian). Aktaion was the hero that saw Artemis bathing and she changed him into a stag. Afterwards his own hounds killed him.[5]
Family
King Actaeus had four daughters named Aglaurus, Erse and Pandrosos, who all got offspring, but a fourth daughter, Phoenice, who died a virgin. The wife of King Actaeus is obscure.
According to the Byzantine Suda Lexicon, the ancient Greek historian Scamon of Mytilene claimed that Actaeus named the Phoenician letters in honor of his daughter Phoenice, who had died a virgin.[6]
Paleontology
Actaeus armatus, a Middle Cambrian (~505 MA) arthropod from the Burgess Shale, was named after Actaeus.[7]
Notes
- ^ Hard, p. 365.
- ^ a b The Parian Marble, Fragment 2 (March 7, 2001). "Interleaved Greek and English text (translation by Gillian Newing)". Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Pausanias, 1.2.6
- ^ Berti, Monica. "Digital Marmor Parium". www.digitalmarmorparium.org. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ "SOL Search". www.cs.uky.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
- ^ Suda, s.v. Phoenician letters with the authority of Skamon in his second book on Discoveries
- ^ "Actaeus armatus. Burgess Shale Fossil Gallery". Virtual Museum of Canada. (Burgess Shale species 23). Archived from the original on March 26, 2023.
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 978-0-415-18636-0. Google Books.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece with 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. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
- Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Suida, Suda Encyclopedia translated by Ross Scaife, David Whitehead, William Hutton, Catharine Roth, Jennifer Benedict, Gregory Hays, Malcolm Heath Sean M. Redmond, Nicholas Fincher, Patrick Rourke, Elizabeth Vandiver, Raphael Finkel, Frederick Williams, Carl Widstrand, Robert Dyer, Joseph L. Rife, Oliver Phillips and many others. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Actaeus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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