Cycnus was the son ofPoseidon byCalyce (daughter ofHecaton),[2]Harpale,[3] or byScamandrodice.[4] According toJohn Tzetzes, his mother Scamandrodice abandoned him on the seashore, but he was rescued by fishermen who named him Cycnus "swan" because they saw a swan flying over him.[4] In another account, he was said to have had womanly white skin and fair hair, which was why he received his name that meant "swan".[5]
Philonome fell in love with her handsome stepson, Tenes. Tenes rejected Philonome's advances, whereupon Philonome falsely accused Tenes before her husband of having ravished her. Cycnus ordered to place both his children in a chest and throw it into the sea. However, Cycnus discovered the truth and had Philonome buried alive. When he found that his children had survived and were reigning atTenedos, he sailed there intending to reconcile with them, but Tenes cut the anchor rope of his ship.[10][11][12][13][14]
Cycnus later supported theTrojans in theTrojan War, and fought valiantly, killing one thousand opponents according to Ovid. According to some accounts he killed theGreek heroProtesilaus,[15] but according to others, Cycnus attacked the Greek camp when the funeral of Protesilaus was underway.[16] It was said that Cycnus, being the son of Poseidon, was invulnerable to spear and sword attack. WhenAchilles confronted Cycnus he could not kill him via conventional weaponry so he crushed and suffocated him. After his death, Cycnus was changed into a swan.[17] Later, the Greek army invaded Cycnus's kingdom, but the people of Colonae implored them to spare the city. The Greek leaders agreed, on condition that Cobis, Corianus and Glauce be handed over to them, and made a truce with the citizens.[8]
Virgil borrowed heavily from Cycnus when making the characterMessapus for theAeneid. Messapus is the son ofNeptune, and like Cycnus was said to be invulnerable.[18]
Conon, Fifty Narrations, surviving as one-paragraph summaries in the Bibliotheca (Library) of Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople translated from the Greek by Brady Kiesling.Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Pausanias,Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
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