Aethlius

Aethlius or Aithlios (Ancient Greek: Ἀέθλιος means "winning the prize") or Aethnos[1] was, in Greek mythology, the first king of Elis.[2]

Family

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Aethlius was the son of Zeus and Protogeneia (daughter of Deucalion),[3] and was married to Calyce by whom he fathered Endymion.[4] According to some accounts, Endymion was himself a son of Zeus and first king of Elis.[5] Other traditions again made Aethlius a son of Aeolus, who was called by the name of Zeus.[6]

Mythology

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Aethlius led Aeolians from Thessaly and founded Elis. According to Eusebius, as a means of challenging his sons, Aethlius use the concept of Olympics of the Idaean Dactyls and it was from his name that the adversaries are called athletes. After Aethlius, his sons Epeius and then Endymion, Alexinus and Oenomaus were each in charge of the sacrifices connected with the festival.[7]

Notes

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  1. ^ Conon, Narrations 14
  2. ^ Pausanias, 5.1.2
  3. ^ Apollodorus, 1.7.2; Hyginus, Fabulae 155
  4. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Aethlius (1)", in Smith, William (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. 1, Boston, MA, p. 51, archived from the original on 2010-06-08, retrieved 2007-11-04{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Apollodorus, 1.7.5
  6. ^ Pausanias, 5.8.1
  7. ^ Eusebius, Chronography 69

References

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 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainSmith, William, ed. (1870). "Aethlius (1)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.