InGreek mythology,Lycus orLykos (/ˈlaɪkəs/LY-kəs;Ancient Greek:Λύκος,romanized: Lúkos,lit. 'wolf') was a ruler of the ancient city ofAncient Thebes (Boeotia). His rule was preceded by the regency ofNycteus and in turn, Lycus was succeeded by the twinsAmphion and Zethus.

Lycus and his brotherNycteus were the sons of either (1)Chthonius, one of theSpartoi;^[1] or (2) of thenymph Clonia andHyrieus, the son ofPoseidon and theAtlantidAlkyone;^[2] or lastly (3) of Poseidon and the PleiadCelaeno.^[3] He was married toDirce and possibly by her, the father of anotherLycus.^[4] Lycus was the uncle ofAntiope, daughter of Nycteus.

Lycus and Nycteus fled fromEuboea after they murdered KingPhlegyas, settling inHyria and then moving toThebes, because they were friends withPentheus, its king.^[5]

Pentheus's successor wasPolydorus, who married Nycteis, the daughter of Nycteus. Nycteus served asregent forLabdacus, the son of Polydorus, when Polydorus died at a young age. Nycteus's daughter,Antiope, was impregnated byZeus, and fled to Sicyon to marry KingEpopeus.

Pausanias writes that Nycteus waged war on Epopeus, but in battle was wounded, and died after being carried back to Thebes, appointing Lycus as regent for Labdacus. Nycteus urged Lycus to continue to attack Epopeus, and to retake and punish Antiope. Epopeus died of a wound just as Nycteus did, and his heirLamedon gave Antiope up freely to avoid war.^[6]

The author of theBibliotheca, however, writes that Lycus was the one chosen regent after the deaths of Pentheus and Labdacus. Nycteus killed himself from shame when he discovered Antiope's pregnancy, and Lycus initiated the attack because he himself desired to punish her, successfully carrying her off after the battle.^[1]

In either case, Antiope gave birth to the twinsAmphion and Zethus on the way back to Thebes, atMount Cithaeron. Lycus abandoned the babies, leaving them with shepherds.

Once he returned to Thebes, Lycus gained custody of his niece Antiope. She was given over by Lycus to Dirce who took her away, locked her up and tortured her cruelly. After many years, Antiope escaped and found her sons who vowed to reap revenge for what Lycus and Dirce did to their mother for all those years.^[7] Eventually, they returned to Thebes to kill Lycus and Dirce and take command of the city.^[8] According to Euripides,Hermes forbade the twins from killing Lycus, although he forced Lycus to give them Thebes.^[9]

• Apollodorus,The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website.
• Gantz, Timothy,Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes:ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1),ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).
• 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.ISBN 0-674-99328-4.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias,Graeciae Descriptio.3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Tripp, Edward,Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology, Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970).ISBN 069022608X.

• Theban kings
• Kings in Greek mythology
• Children of Poseidon
• Mythological Thebans

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