Halirrhothius Explained

Halirrhothius (; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἁλιρρόθιος|Halirrhóthios|sea-foam^[1]) was the Athenian son of Poseidon and Euryte or Bathycleia^[2] in Greek mythology. He was also called the son of Perieres and husband of Alcyone who bore him two sons, Serus and Alazygus.^[3] Another son of Halirrhothius, Samos of Mantinea was the victor of the four-horse chariot during the first Olympic games established by Heracles.^[4]

Mythology

When Halirrhothius raped Alcippe, Ares's daughter by Aglaulus, Ares killed him. Ares was then tried for this in a court made up of his fellow gods. The trial was held on a hill adjacent to the Acropolis of Athens, known as the Areopagus. Ares was acquitted.^[5] According to the Parian Chronicle this event took place in 1532/1 BC during the reign of Cranaus.^[6]

In another version of the myth, Halirrhothius was sent by his father to cut down the olive that had grown out of the spear of Athena. As he raised his axe, it fell out of his hand and mortally wounded him. The olive was called "fatal" (moros in Greek, which was used as folk-etymology for moria, the name of the sacred olive trees) from that circumstance.^[7] Servius adds that Poseidon was in such great grief of his son's passing, that he accused Ares of murder, and the matter was settled on the Areopagus.^[8]

See also

• Tereus
• Proetus

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, . Google Books.
• Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Book: Wunder, Eduard . Sophocles' Oedipus rex, Oedipus Colonaeus, Electra, Antigone . I . London . Williams and Norgate . 1855 .

Notes and References

1. Book: The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology by Robin Hard. Based on H.J. Rose's Handbook of Greek Mythology. Taylor & Francis Group. 2004. 0-203-44633-X. New York, NY. 365.
2. [Scholia]
3. Scholia on Pindar, Olympian Ode 10.83 as cited in Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 64
4. Pindar, Olympian Odes 10.70
5. [Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]
6. Web site: Interleaved Greek and English text (translation by Gillian Newing). The Parian Marble. Fragment 3. March 7, 2001. January 24, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20131225031833/http://www.ashmolean.museum/ash/faqs/q004/q004008.html. December 25, 2013. dead.
7. Scholia on Aristophanes, Clouds 1005
8. [Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]