Autolycus

Autolycus: The Master Thief of Greek Mythology

Autolycus was a thief of Mount Parnassus, a son of Hermes and the maternal grandfather of Odysseus. Homer says he surpassed all men in thievery and oaths, a gift he received from Hermes himself (Odyssey 19.394–398). Later writers made him the master of disguise who could change the look of what he stole.

Lineage and Family Ties

Ovid names Autolycus’ mother as Chione, the daughter of Daedalion. Hermes and Apollo both lay with her on the same day; she bore Autolycus to Hermes and a second son, the singer Philammon, to Apollo (Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.291–317). In the Odyssey Autolycus lives on Parnassus, near Delphi. His wife is not named there, but Amphithea is the mother of his daughter and welcomes Odysseus as a grandson (Odyssey 19.411–417). In Ovid his wife is Mestra, daughter of Erysichthon (Metamorphoses 8.738).

His daughter Anticlea became the wife of Laertes and the mother of Odysseus (Odyssey 11.84–85, 19.399–400). According to Apollodorus, another daughter, Polymede, bore Jason to Aeson (Library 1.9.16). In another version Jason’s mother was Alcimede, daughter of Phylacus (Apollonius, Argonautica 1.47, 1.233). Autolycus himself appears in Apollodorus’ list of the Argonauts, as a son of Hermes (Library 1.9.16).

Skills in Thievery and Trickery

Ovid says that Autolycus, true to his father’s craft, could make white of black and black of white (Metamorphoses 11.313–315). In the Iliad he is the thief who broke into the house of Amyntor son of Ormenus at Eleon and carried off a helmet made of leather and plated with boar’s tusks. It passed through several hands to Meriones, who lent it to Odysseus for his night raid on the Trojan camp (Iliad 10.260–271). No ancient source gives Autolycus a helmet of invisibility; the cap that makes its wearer unseen belongs to Hades (Apollodorus, Library 2.4.2).

The Naming of Odysseus

When Odysseus was born, Autolycus came to Ithaca. Eurycleia set the newborn on his knees and asked him to choose a name. Autolycus answered that he had come to the world as one who had been angry with many (odyssamenos), and so the child should be called Odysseus. When the boy was grown, he said, he should come to Parnassus to receive gifts (Odyssey 19.399–412).

Odysseus later went to Parnassus, where Autolycus and his sons welcomed him. During a boar hunt there he was wounded above the knee by the boar’s tusk. The sons of Autolycus bound the wound and healed it with a charm, and he returned home with gifts. The scar was the sign by which Eurycleia later recognised him (Odyssey 19.413–466).

Influence on Legendary Heroes

Apollodorus says that Heracles was taught to wrestle by Autolycus, to drive a chariot by Amphitryon, to shoot by Eurytus, to fence by Castor and to play the lyre by Linus (Library 2.4.9).

The same writer ties Autolycus to the quarrel with Eurytus. Cattle were stolen from Euboea by Autolycus, and Eurytus suspected Heracles. Eurytus’ son Iphitus did not believe it and went to Heracles to search for the animals with him. Heracles, seized by madness again, threw Iphitus from the walls of Tiryns. As punishment he was sold into service for three years and had to pay compensation to Eurytus (Library 2.6.2). Iphitus was therefore the son of Eurytus, not of Autolycus. In Homer’s version Iphitus was looking for lost mares, and Heracles killed him in his own house (Odyssey 21.22–30).

The Legacy of Autolycus

Autolycus is remembered chiefly through his descendants. His daughter Anticlea gave birth to Odysseus, and through Polymede he was the grandfather of Jason in Apollodorus’ account. The boar-tusk helmet that Autolycus stole was worn by Odysseus on his night raid in the Iliad.

Autolycus Sources

Homer, Iliad 10.260–271; Homer, Odyssey 11.84–85, 19.394–466, 21.22–30; Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.738, 11.291–317; Apollodorus, Library 1.9.16, 2.4.2, 2.4.9, 2.6.2; Apollonius, Argonautica 1.47, 1.233.

See Also: Hermes, Odysseus, Anticlea, Heracles, Argonauts, Jason, Laertes, Eurytus