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For other uses, see Auge (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Auge /ˈɔː/[1] (Greek: Αὐγή) a daughter of Aleus and Neaera and priestess of Athena Alea at Tegea, bore the hero Telephus to Heracles. Her father had been told by an oracle that he would be overthrown by his grandson.[2] She secreted the baby in the temple of Athena. A scarcity of grain alerted Aleus that there was a profanation of the temple, and he discovered the child.

In one version the baby was exposed on Mount Parthenion above Tegea, where Telephus was suckled by a deer.[3]

In another Auge was given to Nauplius ("sailor") who was to kill her, but who, taking pity, brought her to Teuthras, a king in Mysia, in Asia Minor. Alternatively, Auge and Telephus were put in a crate and set adrift on the sea.[4] They washed up in Mysia, where Telephus later appeared in his wanderings; mother and son were about to consummate their marriage when they were parted by a thunderbolt.

In the time of Pausanias (2nd century CE), the tomb of Auge was still shown at Pergamon, where the Attalids venerated Telephus as a founding hero.[5] In the Telephus frieze on the Great Altar of Pergamon, Auge appears in a subsidiary role.


  1. ^ Dictionary of Name Pronunciation - Pronounce Auge
  2. ^ Compare the fate of Cronus; a similar oracle presaged the begetting of Achilles.
  3. ^ Bibliotheke 2.7.4; 3.9.1.
  4. ^ Compare the fate of Danaë and Perseus
  5. ^ Pausanias 8.4.6.