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InRoman mythology,Acestes orEgestes (Ancient Greek:Ἀκέστης) was the son of theSicilian river-godCrinisus by aDardanian orTrojan woman named Egesta or Segesta.[1]
According toServius, this woman Egesta or Segesta was sent by her father, Hippotes or Ipsostratus, toSicily, that she might not be devoured by the monsters which infested the territory ofTroy and which had been sent into the land, because the Trojans had refused to rewardPoseidon andApollo for having built the walls of their city.[2] When Egesta arrived in Sicily, the river-god Crinisus in the form of a bear or a dog sired with her a son named Acestes, who was afterwards regarded as the hero who had founded the town ofSegesta.[3]
The funeral games of Aeneas's fatherAnchises were held there. Those of Aeneas's folk who wished to voyage no further were allowed to remain behind with Acestes and together with Acestes's people they founded the city of Acesta, that is Segesta.
TheAeneid cites him as giving wine as a farewell gift to Aeneas as he is leaving Sicily.
The tradition of Acestes inDionysius of Halicarnassus,[4] who calls him Aegestus (Αἴγεστος), is different, for according to him, the grandfather of Aegestus quarreled withLaomedon, who slew him and gave his daughters to some merchants to convey them to a distant land. A noble Trojan however embarked with them, and married one of them in Sicily, where she subsequently gave birth to a son, Aegestus. During the war against Troy Aegestus obtained permission fromPriam to return and take part in the contest, and afterwards returned to Sicily, whereAeneas on his arrival was hospitably received by him andElymus, and built for them the towns ofAegesta and Elyme. The account of Dionysius seems to be nothing but a rationalistic interpretation of the genuine legend.[5]
In theAeneid, Acestes participates in a trial of skill in which he shoots hisarrow which then bursts into flame as a sign from Jupiter of Acestes's deserved honor.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Acestes".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.