ACHAEAN EURYPYLUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
The name Eurypylus is one which occurs numerous times in tales of Greek mythology and indeed, in the tales of the Trojan War, there were heroes on both sides named so. The Achaean Eurypylus having led a contingent of Ormenians to Troy.
Eurypylus of Ormenium
|
Eurypylus was born into the extended royal family of Ormenium, for he was grandson of the eponymous King Ormenus, vis Ormenus’ son Euaemon. Eurypylus’ mother is named as either Ops or Deipyle.
Eurypylus would grow up in Ormenium a polis of Thessaly, although there is no agreement today, as to the exact location of the city of Ormenus. |
|
Eurypylus Suitor of Helen
Strabo would name Eurypylus as the King of the Ormenians, having succeeded Amyntor, his uncle. Amyntor’s son, Phoenix, had fled Ormenium many years before. Certainly, when Tyndareus, King of Sparta, was seeking a husband for his “daughter”, Helen, Eurypylus was of a certain status, as Eurypylus was named as one of the Suitors of Helen.
Cousins, Eurypylus and Phoenix would find themselves together at Troy, for whilst Phoenix accompanied Achilles, Eurypylus heeded the call to arms, when Menelaus invoked the Oath of Tyndareus, to raise an army to retrieve Helen from Troy.
When the Achaean fleet gathered at Aulis, Eurypylus brought forth 40 ships of Oemenians; making Eurypylus one of the largest contributors to Agamemnon’s army.
Cousins, Eurypylus and Phoenix would find themselves together at Troy, for whilst Phoenix accompanied Achilles, Eurypylus heeded the call to arms, when Menelaus invoked the Oath of Tyndareus, to raise an army to retrieve Helen from Troy.
When the Achaean fleet gathered at Aulis, Eurypylus brought forth 40 ships of Oemenians; making Eurypylus one of the largest contributors to Agamemnon’s army.
Eurypylus at TroyThe Achaean Eurypylus is of course not to be confused with a Trojan defender of the same name; this second Eurypylus being the King of Mysia.
The Achaean Eurypylus was considered one of the leading fighters for the Greeks, often named alongside the likes of Ajax the Great and Diomedes. Fighting in the front line, Eurypylus would rescue Ajax when his comrade was close to being killed. Four named Trojan defenders killed by Eurypylus are spoken of in surviving sources; these being Hypsenor, Melanthus, Apisaon and Axion. Eurypylus’ weapons of choice being the sword and spear. Eventually, Eurypylus was himself wounded by an arrow unleashed by Paris; Patrolcus would tend to Eurypylus’ wounds, and it was the sight of the wounded Eurypylus, amongst others that caused Patrolcus to plead with Achilles to bring the Myrmidons back to the fight. Eurypylus would recover from his wounds, and is commonly thereafter named as one of the Achaeans who hid in side the Wooden Horse, the ruse that led to the Sacking of Troy. |
|
The Madness of Eurypylus
Having survived the Trojan War, and as part of his spoils of war, received a chest. Some say that it was a chest left behind by Aeneas, when the Trojan hero fled the city; others tell of it deliberately being left by Cassandra.
The chest had been made by Hephaestus, and had been given to Dardanus, founder of Dardania by Zeus. Inside the chest was a depiction of the god Dionysus, and when Eurypylus opened the chest, and gazed upon the likeness of the god, he went mad.
In a moment of lucidity, Eurypylus decided to travel to Delphi, to find out how his madness might be cured. The Oracle advised him to make a new home for himself, and the chest, at the place where he observed a strange sacrifice taking place.
As was the way of such thing, strong winds would take Eurypylus’ ship and blow it to the coast line of Aroe (Patrae). There, Eurypylus saw the locals about to sacrifice a youth and a maiden to the goddess Artemis; the people of Patrae having to do this sacrifice annually after Melanippus and Comaetho had desecrated Artemis’ temple. The sacrifice was meant to abate the sickness that had spread over the land.
Landing, with the chest, Eurypylus’ arrival brought an end to the sacrifices, for the locals themselves had received a prophecy about a foreign king bringing forth a foreign god. The chest was now placed in a sanctuary dedicated to Dionysus, and Eurypylus’ madness left him.
Eurypylus would never return to Ormenium, and the former king, was said to have built a temple dedicated to Soteria, the personification of recovery in Patrae. In antiquity, the tomb of Eurypylus was said to have been located in Patrae.
The chest had been made by Hephaestus, and had been given to Dardanus, founder of Dardania by Zeus. Inside the chest was a depiction of the god Dionysus, and when Eurypylus opened the chest, and gazed upon the likeness of the god, he went mad.
In a moment of lucidity, Eurypylus decided to travel to Delphi, to find out how his madness might be cured. The Oracle advised him to make a new home for himself, and the chest, at the place where he observed a strange sacrifice taking place.
As was the way of such thing, strong winds would take Eurypylus’ ship and blow it to the coast line of Aroe (Patrae). There, Eurypylus saw the locals about to sacrifice a youth and a maiden to the goddess Artemis; the people of Patrae having to do this sacrifice annually after Melanippus and Comaetho had desecrated Artemis’ temple. The sacrifice was meant to abate the sickness that had spread over the land.
Landing, with the chest, Eurypylus’ arrival brought an end to the sacrifices, for the locals themselves had received a prophecy about a foreign king bringing forth a foreign god. The chest was now placed in a sanctuary dedicated to Dionysus, and Eurypylus’ madness left him.
Eurypylus would never return to Ormenium, and the former king, was said to have built a temple dedicated to Soteria, the personification of recovery in Patrae. In antiquity, the tomb of Eurypylus was said to have been located in Patrae.
|
|
Colin Quartermain - Eurypylus - 14th Spetember 2025