Palaechthon Explained

In Greek mythology, Palaechthon or Palaichthon (Ancient Greek: Παλαίχθονος Palaikhthon means "ancient earth") was the son of Gaea (Earth) and the father of Pelasgus, king of Argos, who gave his name to the race of the Pelasgoi (Pelasgians).^[1] He may also be a king of Argos when taking into account the sovereignty of his son.

Mythology

Palaeachthon was only mentioned by Aeschylus in The Suppliants in the following account:

For I am Pelasgus, offspring of Palaechthon, whom the earth brought forth, and lord of this land; and after me, their king, is rightly named the race of the Pelasgi, who harvest the land.^[2]

Interpretation

The earthborn Palaichthon (‘long in the land’, i.e. ‘indigenous inhabitant’), whose name appears in no other source, seems to have been an arbitrarily invented figure.^{[3] [4]}

References

• Aeschylus, translated in two volumes. 2. Suppliant Women by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.

Notes and References

1. [Aeschylus]
2. Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 250 ff
3. [Alcman]
4. Book: Hard, Robin. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology. Taylor & Francis Group. 2004. 0-203-44633-X. New York. 538.