Telephus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Telephus

17 passages from 7 ancient authors that tell of Telephus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Telephus was the son of Heracles and Auge in Greek mythology, father of Eurypylus. His grandfather on the side of his mother, Aleus, was the king of t... For the story in one place, read our article on Telephus.

Apollodorus (3)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.3.1–35Paris and Helen; the muster at Aulis and the landing at TroyParis judges the contest of the three goddesses, carries off Helen, and Menelaus and Agamemnon call the Greek kings to arms; Odysseus's feigned madness is exposed and Palamedes is framed. The section gives the catalogue of the Greek fleet at Aulis, the omen of the snake and sparrows, the failed first landing in Mysia and the healing of Telephus, and the sacrifice of Iphigenia. After Tenedos and the abandonment of Philoctetes, Protesilaus is the first to die at Troy, Achilles takes many nearby cities, and the Trojan allies are listed.
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.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 3.9.1–2Arcas, Auge and Telephus; Atalanta and MelanionArcas has two sons, Elatus and Aphidas, who divide the land; Aphidas's son Aleus has a daughter, Auge, who bears Telephus to Heracles and is sent away to Teuthras in Mysia. Lycurgus's son Iasus has a daughter, Atalanta, who is exposed but suckled by a she-bear and raised by hunters. She kills the centaurs who attack her, wrestles Peleus and hunts the Calydonian boar, and Melanion wins her in a foot race with Aphrodite's golden apples; both are later turned into lions, and their son is Parthenopaeus.

Pindar (1)

Pindar, Isthmian Odes 5.1–63Isthmian 5: for Phylacidas — the Aeacidae at TroyPindar addresses Theia, mother of the Sun, and praises Phylacidas of Aegina, pancratium victor, and his brother Pytheas, and says that the Isthmus and Nemea have given them two-fold fame. He asks who it was that fought Hector, Memnon and Telephus, and answers that they were the Aeacidae of Aegina. The ode ends with the praise of Pytheas and a garland for him.

Aristophanes (3)

Aristophanes, The Acharnians 393–488Episode: Dicaeopolis borrows the rags of Telephus from EuripidesDicaeopolis resolves to plead for the enemy dressed as a beggar, and goes to Euripides' house, where a servant says that the poet is within and not within. Euripides, working aloft, lends him the rags of Telephus, then a Mysian cap, a staff, a basket, a tankard, a pitcher and some withered leaves. When Dicaeopolis asks for chervil as one last thing, Euripides loses patience and has the door shut.
Aristophanes, Frogs 813–869Agon, opening: the Chorus and the quarrel of the poetsThe Chorus foretell the clash between the thunder-voiced Aeschylus and the quick-tongued Euripides. Euripides refuses to give up the chair, and Aeschylus answers with fury, calling him a collector of rags and patches. Dionysus tries to calm them and asks what Aeschylus proposes, and Aeschylus complains that his own poems survived him while those of Euripides died with him.
Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 689–784Episode: the baby that is a wineskin (Telephus parody)Mnesilochus has snatched a woman's baby, in a parody of Euripides' Telephus, and threatens to kill it on the altar unless the women let him go. The women call for brushwood to burn him, but when he unwraps the child it turns out to be a wineskin in baby's clothes, and he threatens to sacrifice it. The First Woman goes to fetch Cleisthenes and the police, leaving him guarded, and he plans to send word to Euripides by carving a message on votive tablets in the manner of Euripides' Palamedes.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 4.31.1–4.33.12Heracles: servitude, Troy, Elis and SpartaAfter his labours Heracles gives Megara to Iolaüs and asks for Iole, daughter of Eurytus; he is refused, falls ill, and is told by Apollo to be sold as a slave to pay the sons of Iphitus. He then makes war on Laomedon at Troy and gives the kingdom to Priam, fights Augeas and the Eleans, and defeats the sons of Hippocoön at Sparta, restoring Tyndareüs. The section ends with Augê's secret child.

Pausanias (6)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.4.1–6The Gauls at Thermopylae and Delphi; origins of PergamumPausanias digresses to describe the Gauls (Celts) of the far north and their invasion of Greece. The Athenians under Callippus hold Thermopylae, but the Gauls cross Mount Oeta by the path Ephialtes once showed the Medes and march on Delphi, where thunderbolts, falling rocks and phantom warriors, among them Pyrrhus son of Achilles, drive them back. The survivors cross to Asia, take Ancyra and Pessinus and settle in Galatia, until the Pergamenians drive them from the coast; he sketches Pergamene history.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.26.1–11Thalamae, Pephnus, Leuctra, Cardamyle and Gerenia: the Machaon shrinePausanias describes the dream oracle of Ino near Thalamae, the islet of Pephnus where the Dioscuri were said to be born, and Leuctra, with its shrines of Aesculapius, Cassandra and Love and the Ithomatian Zeus found in a burnt wood. He then describes Cardamyle and Gerenia, with the tomb and sanctuary of Machaon, Mount Calathium and Alagonia, and explains why Eurypylus’ name is not spoken at Pergamus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.45.1–7Tegea: the temple of Athena Alea and its sculpturesPausanias lists the townships of Tegea and the achievements the Tegeans claim: Ancaeus and Atalanta at the Calydonian boar hunt, Echemus' victory over Hyllus, and their defeat of Lacedaemonian invaders. The old sanctuary of Athena Alea was burned and replaced by a large temple with Doric, Corinthian and Ionic columns, which he credits to the architect Scopas of Paros. The front gable shows the Calydonian boar hunt and the back gable shows the fight of Telephus with Achilles on the plain of the Caicus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.48.1–8Tegea: the market-place, the women's victory over Charillus and AugePausanias describes the brick-shaped market-place of Tegea, with its temple of Aphrodite, reliefs of the lawgivers and of the Olympic victor Iasius, and a digression on the palm and other crowns given to victors. He covers the relief of Ares, called Entertainer of Women because the women of Tegea, under Marpessa, routed the Spartan king Charillus in ambush and kept the sacrifice to themselves. He also mentions the altar of Full-grown Zeus, the tombs of Tegeates and Maera, and the temple of Ilithyia, called Auge on her Knees, with the two tales of the birth of Telephus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.54.1–7The Alpheus and the roads from Tegea: Orestes' tomb and Mount PartheniusPausanias describes the Alpheus, which rises at Phylace and repeatedly sinks underground, rising again at Asea and Pegae and flowing under the sea to mix with Arethusa at Syracuse. He lists what lies on the roads from Tegea: the tomb of Orestes, a sanctuary of Pan and the oak grove with temples of Demeter and Mystic Dionysus. On Mount Parthenius are the precinct of Telephus and a sanctuary of Pan, where Pan appeared to Philippides, and tortoises sacred to Pan. The boundary with Argos is at Hysiae, which closes his account of the Peloponnese.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.5.1–16Thebes: Cadmus, Amphion and Zethus, Oedipus and the early kingsPausanias gives the early history of Thebes: the Ectenians under Ogygus, then Hyantians and Aonians, then Cadmus, who founded the Cadmea, and the Sparti. He traces the line of Polydorus, Labdacus and Laius, and Amphion and Zethus, who added the lower city. He argues from Homer that Oedipus' children were by Euryganea and not Jocasta, and ends with Polynices and Eteocles, the second expedition of the Argives and the later kings.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (2)

Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 4.118–214Funeral games: the foot-raceNestor rises to sing of the deeds of Achilles, and Thetis rewards him with the horses Telephus once gave her son. Ten heifers are set out as prizes for the foot-race. Teucer and Aias son of Oileus run for them, and Teucer, tripped by a tamarisk root and lamed, loses to Aias.
Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 6.116–199Eurypylus comes to TroyThe Trojans are rescued by the coming of Eurypylus, grandson of Hercules, with a host from the river Caicus. They crowd round him with delight and Paris welcomes him as a kinsman. After a feast outside the walls Priam and the Trojans beg him to fight for them, and he promises.

Epic Cycle (1)

Epic Cycle, Summaries and Fragments 7.1–26Little IliadProclus' summary of the Little Iliad begins with the judging of the arms of Achilles, which Odysseus wins, and the madness and death of Aias. Philoctetes is brought from Lemnos, Eurypylus is killed by Neoptolemus and Epeius builds the wooden horse. The fragments give the girls' quarrel over Aias and Odysseus, Achilles at Scyros, the golden vine given to Laomedon for Ganymedes, and the death of Astyanax.