InGreek mythology,Autolycus (/ɔːˈtɒlɪkəs/;Ancient Greek:Αὐτόλυκος,romanized: Autólykos,lit. 'the wolf itself')[1] was a robber who had the power to metamorphose or make invisible the things he stole.[2] He had his residence onMount Parnassus and was renowned among men for his cunning and oaths.
There are a number of different accounts of the birth of Autolycus. According to most, he was the son ofHermes[3] andChione[4] orPhilonis.[5] InOvid's version, Autolycus was conceived after Hermes had intercourse with the virgin Chione.[6]Pausanias instead states that Autolycus's real father wasDaedalion.[7][8] In some accounts, his mother was also called Telauge.[9]
Depending on the source, Autolycus was the husband ofMestra (who could change her shape at will and was a daughter ofErysichthon[10][11]), or ofNeaera,[7] or ofAmphithea.[12] He became the father ofAnticlea (who marriedLaertesof Ithaca and was the mother ofOdysseus[13]) and several sons, of whom onlyAesimus, father ofSinon was named.[14] Autolycus's other daughter wasPolymede, mother ofJason, the famousArgonaut who led a group of men to find the covetedGolden Fleece.[3]
| Relation | Names | Sources | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homer | Hesiod | Apollodorus | Ovid | Hyginus | Pausanias | Tryphiodorus | Eustathius | ||
| Parentage | Hermes | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||
| Hermes and Philonis | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Hermes and Chione | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Daedalion | ✓ | ✓ | |||||||
| Hermes and Telauge or | ✓ | ||||||||
| Daedalion and Telauge | ✓ | ||||||||
| Spouse | Amphithea | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||
| Mestra | ✓ | ||||||||
| Neaera | ✓ | ||||||||
| Offspring | Anticlea | ✓ | ✓ | ||||||
| Polymede | ✓ | ||||||||
| Neaera | ✓ | ||||||||
| Aesimus | ✓ | ||||||||
According toBibliotheca, Autolycus was counted as one of the Argonauts.[3]
Autolycus obtained most of the same skills that his supposed father Hermes possesses, such as the arts of theft and trickery. It was said that he "loved to make white of black, and black of white, from a hornless animal to a horned one, or from horned one to a hornless". He was given the gift that his thievery could not be caught by anyone.[15]
Autolycus, master of thievery, was also well known for stealingSisyphus's herd right from underneath him – Sisyphus, who was commonly known for being a crafty king that killed guests, seduced his niece and stole his brothers' throne[16] and was banished to the throes ofTartarus by the gods. However, according to other versions of the myth, Autolycus failed to steal Sisyphus's herd and the king banished him from his city.
Heracles, the great Greek hero, was taught the art ofwrestling by Autolycus.[17] However, Autolycus was a source of trouble in Heracles's life, because when Autolycus stole some cattle from Euboea and Eurytus, they accused Heracles of the deed; upon going mad from these accusations, Heracles killed them and another one of Eurytus's sons,Iphitus. This led to Heracles serving three years of punishment to repent the deed.[18]
Through Anticleia, Autolycus was also the grandfather of the famous warriorOdysseus,[13] and he was responsible for the naming of the child as well. This happened when the nurse of the childEurycleia "laid the child upon his knees and spoke, and addressed him: Autolycus, find now thyself a name to give to thy child's own child; be sure he has long been prayed for". Then Autolycus answered: "Since I have been angered (ὀδυσσάμενοςodyssamenos)[19] with many, both men and women, let the name of the child be Odysseus".[20]
