The Ancient Library

Scanned text contains errors.

On this page: Polydectes – Polydegmon – Polydeuces – Polydora – Polydorus


which she could soothe any grief or anger. (Horn. Od. iv. 228.) [L. S.]

POLYDECTES (IIoAi/SeKTTjs), a son of Mag- nes and king of the island of Seriphos, is called a brother of Dictys. (Pind. Pyih. xii. 14 ; Apollod. i. 9. § 6 ; Strab. x. p. 487 ; Zenob. i. 41 ; Paus. i. 22. §6.) [L.S.]

POLYDECTES (IIoAu5eVrr/y), the sixth or seventh king of Sparta in the Proclid line, was the eldest son of Eunomus, the brother of Lycurgus the lawgiver, and the father of Charilaus, who suc­ceeded him. Herodotus, contrary to the other au­thorities, makes Polydectes the father of Eunomus. (Plut. Lye. 2 ; Paus. iii. 7. § 2 ; Herod, viii. 131.) [eunomus.]

POLYDECTES, a sculptor who lived at Rome under the earlier emperors, and wrought in con­ junction with Hermolaus. These two were among the artists who "filled the palace of the Caesars on the Palatine with most approved works." (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 5. s. 4. § 11.) [P. S.]

POLYDEGMON or POLYDECTES (Uo\v- dey/ncw or IIoAuSe/CTTjs), that is, " the one who receives many," occurs as a surname of Hades (Horn. Hymn, in Cer. 431 ; Aeschyl. Prom. 153.) [L. S.]

POLYDEUCES (rioAu5ey/a/s), one of the Dioscuri, is commonly called Pollux and the twin- brother of Castor. (Horn. II. iii. 237 ; Apollod. iii. 11. § 1 ; comp. dioscuri.) [L. S.]

POLYDEUCES, literary. [pollux.]

POLYDORA (IIoAuScfya). 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Thetys. (Hes. Theog. 354.)

2. The mother of Idas and Lynceus. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 151.)

3. A daughter of Danaus and the wife of Pe-neius, by whom she became the mother of Dryops. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. \. 1212 ; Anton. Lib. 32.)

4. The daughter of Meleager and Cleopatra, was married to Protesilaus, after whose death she was so much affected by grief that she made away with herself. (Paus. iv. 2. § 5.)

5. A daughter of Peleus and Polymela, was a sister of'Achilles, and married to Sparcheius or Borus, by whom she became the mother of Menes- thius. (Horn. //. xvi. 176 ; Apollod. iii. 13. § 4; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 321.) [L. S.]

POLYDORUS (HoAr^wpoy). 1. A son of Cadmus and Harmonia, was king of Thebes, and husband of Nyctei's, by whom he became the father of Labdacus. (Hes. Theog. 978 ; Apollod. iii. 4. § 2, 5. § 5 ; Paus. ii. 6. § 2, ix. 5. § 1, &c.; Herod, v. 59.)

2. The youngest among the sons of Priam and Laotoe, was slain by Achilles. (Horn. II. xx. 406, &c., xxii. 46, &c.) The tragic poets (see Eurip. Hec. 3) call him a son of Priam and Hecabe. When Ilium was on the point of falling into the hands of the Greeks, Priam entrusted his son Polydorus and a large sum of money to Polymestor or Polymnestor, king of the Thracian Chersonesus; but after the destruction of Troy, Polymestor killed Polydorus for the purpose of getting pos­session of his treasures, and cast his body into the sea. His body was afterwards washed upon the coast, where it was found and recognised by his mother Hecabe, who together with other Trojan captives took vengeance upon Polymestor by killing his two children, and putting out his eyes. (Eurip. Hec. L c., 1050 ; Virg. Aen. iii. 49, &c. ;



Ov. Met. xiii. 432, &c., 536 ; Plut. Parall. mm. 24.) Another tradition states that Polydorus was entrusted to his sister Iliona, who was married to Polyinestor, and who was to educate him. She accordingly brought him up as her own son, while she made every one else believe that her o\vn son Deiphilus or Dei'pylus was Polydorus. The Greeks determined to destroy the race of Priam sent to Polymestor, promising him Electra for his wife, and a large amount of gold, if he would kill Polydorus. Polymestor was prevailed upon, and he accordingly slew his own son instead of Poly­dorus. The true «Polydorus having afterwards learnt the real intention of Polymestor persuaded his sister Iliona to kill Polymestor. (Hygin. Fab. 109, 240 ; Horat. Sat. ii. 3. 61 ; Cic. Tusc. i. 44, A cad. ii. 27.) According to a third tradition, lastly, Polymestor, who was attacked by the Greeks, delivered up Polydorus to them in order to secure their leaving him in peace. The Greeks wanted to get possession of Helen in his stead, but as the Trojans refused to make the exchange, the Greeks stoned Polydorus to death under the very walls of Troy, and his body was delivered up to Helen. (Diet. Cret. ii. 18, 22, 27.)

3. One of the Epigoni, a son of Hippomedon. (Paus. ii. 20. § 4 ; comp. adkastus.) [L. S.J

POLYDORUS (IIoAu5copo9). 1. The tenth or eleventh king of Sparta in the Eurysthenid line, was the son of Alcamenes and the father of Eurycrates, who succeeded him. This king lived in the time of the first Messenian war, and assisted in bringing it to a conclusion, b. c. 724. He was murdered by Polemarchus, a Spartan of high family ; but his name was precious among his people on account of his justice and kindness. They purchased his house of his widow ; and the magistrates in futuro sealed all public documents with his image. Several constitutional changes were introduced by him and his colleague Theopompus ; and Plutarch says that Polydorus increased the number of the Spartan lots. It is further stated that Crotona and the Epizephj^rian Locri were founded in his reign. (Herod, vii. 204 ; Paus. iii. 3. §§ 1—3, iii. 11. § 10, iii. 12. § 3, iv. 7. § 7, viii. 52. § 1 ; Plut. Lye. 6,8.)

2. The brother of Jason of Pherae, Tagus of Thessaly, obtained the supreme power along with his brother Polyphron, on the death of Jason in b. c. 370. But shortly afterwards as the two brothers were on a journey to Larissa, Polydorus died .suddenly in the night, assassinated, as it was supposed, by Polyphron (Xen. Hell, vi. 4, § 33). Diodorus makes a mistake in stating (xv. 61) that Polydorus was killed by another brother Alexander, who afterwards became tyrant of Pherae ; for this Alexander was the nephew, and not the brother of Polydorus and Polyphron. (Plut. Pelop. c. 29.) [See Vol. I. p. 124.]

POLYDORUS, a distinguished sculptor of Rhodes, was one of the associates of Agesander, in, the execution of the celebrated group of the Lao-coon ; and was not improbably the son of Ages­ander, since there is a tradition that Agesander made the figure of Laocoon in the group, and his sons those of the sons of Laocoon. The age of Polydorus depends of course on the date assigned to the Lao­coon: if Thiersch be right he lived at Rome under Titus (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 4. s. 5. § 11 ; agesan­der). He is also mentioned by Pliny, unless an earlier artist of the same name be intended, among

About | First



page #  
Search this site
Ancient Library was developed and hosted by Tim Spalding of