Achelous in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Achelous

14 passages from 6 ancient authors that tell of Achelous, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Achelous was a deity in Greek mythology, the river god of the eponymous river, which is the largest in Greece. Therefore, Achelous was the most import... For the story in one place, read our article on Achelous.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.7.1–7Creon, Antigone, the Epigoni and AlcmaeonCreon takes the kingdom and forbids the burial of the Argive dead; Antigone buries Polynices and is entombed alive, and Theseus's Athenians recover the dead for Adrastus. Ten years later the sons of the fallen, the Epigoni, take Thebes under Alcmaeon, and the Thebans flee after Tiresias's death. Alcmaeon kills his mother Eriphyle, is driven mad, marries Arsinoe and Callirrhoe, and is killed over Harmonia's necklace and robe; his sons by Callirrhoe avenge him and colonize Acarnania.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.7.1–8Heracles' wars, Deianira and the death of HeraclesHera's storms drive Heracles to Cos on his way back from Troy, and he then fights beside the gods against the Giants. He campaigns against Augeas and the Molionides in Elis, against Pylos and against Hippocoon in Sparta, and fathers Telephus by Auge. He wins Deianira from Achelous and kills the centaur Nessus at the Evenus; after taking Oechalia, he puts on the robe stained with Nessus's blood and burns on Mount Oeta, rising to heaven and marrying Hebe. The section ends with a long list of his children, among them his sons by the daughters of Thespius.

Sophocles (2)

Sophocles, Women of Trachis 1–93Prologue: Deianeira, the Nurse and HyllusDeianeira tells how, as a girl at Pleuron, she feared marriage to the river-god Achelous until Heracles rescued her by fighting him, and how her married life has been one long worry for her absent husband. She says that he has now been away for fifteen months and left a tablet with oracles about this time. At the Nurse's suggestion, she sends their son Hyllus to look for his father, who is said to be making war on Euboea.
Sophocles, Women of Trachis 497–587Second stasimon; Deianeira plans to win back her husbandThe Chorus sing of the power of Cypris, and of the fight between Heracles and the river-god Achelous for the hand of Deianeira. Deianeira comes out and tells the women that she fears the younger woman, and that she has a way to win back her husband's love. She says that the centaur Nessus, whom Heracles shot with an arrow when he tried to assault her at the river, told her to use his blood as a charm, and that she has smeared a robe with it.

Apollonius Rhodius (1)

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.885–981The Sirens, the Wandering Rocks and ScyllaAt dawn the Argonauts leave Aeaea; Orpheus drowns out the Sirens' song with his lyre, though Butes dives in and is saved by Cypris. The Nereids pass Argo through the Wandering Rocks, with Hera and Hephaestus watching, and the heroes sail on past Thrinacia and the cattle of Helios.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.34.1–4.35.4Deianeira, Meleager and the Calydonian boarHeracles settles at Calydon and marries Deïaneira, daughter of Oeneus. The chapters tell of Meleager and the Calydonian boar: his love for Atalanta, his killing of Althaea's brothers, and his mother's curse, with Oeneus's remarriage to Periboea and the birth of Tydeus.

Ovid (3)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.547–610Theseus at the house of Achelous; PerimeleTheseus, on his way back to Athens, is stopped by the flooded river Achelous, who invites him to his hall and entertains him with tales of changes. Achelous tells him of the Echinades, once nymphs whom he spurned, and of Perimele, whom he loved, and whom her father threw into the sea. Poseidon (Neptune), in pity, turned her into an island.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.1–97Achelous and HeraclesTheseus asks Achelous why he has a broken horn, and the river god tells how he and Heracles (Hercules) fought for the hand of Deianira. Achelous changed into a snake and then a bull, and Heracles tore off one of his horns. The nymphs filled it with fruits and flowers, and it became the horn of plenty.
Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.721–884Erysichthon and FamineAchelous goes on with his tales, and tells how Erysichthon, who scorns the gods, cuts down the sacred oak of Demeter (Ceres), and its dryad dies, prophesying his punishment. Demeter sends Famine, who breathes on him as he sleeps, and he grows insatiably hungry and eats everything he has, and sells his daughter Mestra. Mestra is freed by Poseidon (Neptune) and can change her shape, so that her father sells her again and again, until in the end he eats his own limbs. Achelous ends by speaking of his own changes and the horn he has lost.

Pausanias (5)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 6.19.1–15Olympia: the treasuries on the terrace of Mount CroniusPausanias describes the terrace north of the Heraeum, where the treasuries stand. He names the treasuries of the Sicyonians, with its two bronze chambers and the offerings kept in it, the Carthaginians, the Epidamnians, the Byzantines, the Sybarites, the Cyrenians, the Selinuntians, the Metapontines, the Megarians and, beside the stadium, the Gelans. He lists their contents: the sword of Pelops, the horn of Amalthea, a boxwood image of Apollo, cedar figures of Atlas and the Hesperides, and the Megarian relief of Hercules fighting Achelous.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.24.1–14Psophis: the tomb of Alcmaeon and the necklace of EriphylePausanias gives rival accounts of the founder of Psophis, and says she was really a daughter of Eryx of Sicily whose sons by Hercules renamed the city Phegia after her. He describes the rivers Aroanius and Erymanthus, the boar of Hercules, the sanctuary of Aphrodite Erycina and the shrines of Promachus and Echephron. Alcmaeon is buried there under sacred cypresses, after fleeing for killing his mother and being killed by the sons of Phegeus. He ends with a temple of Erymanthus and the story of Aglaus, said never to have known misfortune.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.38.1–11Lycosura and Mount Lycaeus: the oldest city, the sacred precinct and Hagno's springPausanias calls Lycosura the oldest city on earth, the first the sun saw. He describes Mount Lycaeus, which the Arcadians say is the true Crete where Zeus was reared by the nymphs Thisoa, Neda and Hagno, and where the priest of Lycaean Zeus makes rain by stirring the spring of Hagno with an oak branch. On the mountain are a sanctuary of Pan, a hippodrome, the forbidden precinct of Lycaean Zeus where creatures cast no shadow and the festival of Parrhasian Apollo.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.41.1–9Megara: tomb of Alcmena, the lion of Cithaeron and the tomb of TereusPausanias describes the tomb of Alcmena, the altar of Achelous, the tomb of Hyllus, and the temple of Apollo and Artemis built by Alcathous after he killed the lion of Cithaeron. He criticises the Megarian version of the story, arguing that Alcathous came after the fall of Megara in Nisus’ reign. He then lists the shrine of Pandion, the tomb of the Amazon Hippolyte and the barrow of Tereus, whom he places at Daulis rather than Megara.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.8.1–10Delphi: the Amphictyonic Council, the temples at the entrance and the Castalian springPausanias gives the origin and membership of the Amphictyonic Council and how its composition changed after the Sacred War, the Gallic invasion and the foundation of Nicopolis, with the present thirty members. On entering Delphi he describes the row of temples, including that of Forethought Athena, the precinct of the hero Phylacus and the gymnasium, then the river Plistus and the spring Castaly, with the accounts of its name and its link to the Cephisus.