ACHEILUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

The story of Acheilus is one of hubris and transformation that appears in the surviving tales of Greek mythology. Acheilus was a mortal son of the supreme god Zeus. 

​Acheilus Son of Zeus and Lamia

​Acheilus was named as the son of Zeus, and the beautiful Libyan Queen, Lamia. Hera, Zeus’ wife, had of course found out about her husband’s affair, and Hera had kidnapped the offspring of the relationship. 

Lamia had subsequently been turned mad by Hera, resulting in the transformation of Lamia, into a child-eating monster, and in some descriptions Lamia was transformed into a shark.

Despite the absence of his mother, Acheilus, would grow into adulthood; and as befitted the son of Zeus, Acheilus was regarded as amongst the most handsome of all mortal men.

​The Hubris of Acheilus

Such was the beauty of Acheilus, that it was inevitable that the son of Zeus would enter a beauty contest, one which was to be judged by the god Pan. In a moment of self-awareness, and with an incredible lack of foresight, Acheilus declared that he was even more beautiful than the goddess Aphrodite. 

Perhaps unaware of the boast, Pan declared that Acheilus was the winner of the contest, but the hubris of Acheilus had not gone unnoticed. The goddess Aphrodite would punish Pan for rewarding the mortal, by ensuring that Pan fell in love with Echo, Echo though would spurn the advances of Pan. 

The Aphrodite transformed Acheilus, so that the son of Zeus, became as ugly as he had been beautiful. The end of this transformation would see Acheilus metamorphose into a shark, just as his mother Lamia had done. 

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Colin Quartermain - Acheilus - 13th January 2024