Agraeus (Greek:Ἀγραῖος,Agraios) was the name of a number of personages from ancient myth, but was primarily known as anepithet of the godApollo inGreek mythology,[1] which meant "the hunter".[2] After Apollo had killed theLion of Cithaeron, a temple was erected to him byAlcathous, son of Pelops, atMegara under the name of Apollo Agraeus (some accounts report that Alcathous himself killed the lion).[3][4] The epithet was also sometimes used, in the feminine formAgraea (orAgraia), for the goddessArtemis,[2] which was synonymous with her epithetAgrotera.[5]
There is also evidence, attested to byPhilo, that "Agraeus" was a minor god-figure in the mythology ofPhoenicia who invented hunting.[6]
There was also aHeraclid named Agraeus, the son ofTemenus, and youngest brother ofHyrnetho (Ὑρνηθώ), wife of Deiphontes (Δηιφόντης). He was the only one of Hyrnetho's four brothers who refused to participate in the plot to break up her marriage to Deiphontes.[7]
According toJustinus, Agraeus was also the name of a son ofAristaeus (who was himself sometimes identified as "Agraeus"), the mythological founder ofCyrene.[8]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Agraeus".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.