InGreek mythology,Telamon (/ˈtɛləmən/;Ancient Greek:Τελαμών,Telamōn means "broad strap") was the son of KingAeacus ofAegina,[1] andEndeïs, amountain nymph. The elder brother ofPeleus, Telamon sailed alongsideJason as one of hisArgonauts,[2] and was present at the hunt for theCalydonian Boar. In theIliad, he was the father of Greek heroesAjax the Great andTeucer by different mothers. Some accounts mention a third son of his,Trambelus.[3][AI-generated source?] He and Peleus were also close friends ofHeracles, assisting him on his expeditions against theAmazons and his assault on Troy (see below).
In an earlier account recorded byPherecydes of Athens, Telamon and Peleus were not brothers, but friends.[4] According to this account, Telamon was the son ofActaeus andGlauce, with the latter being the daughter ofCychreus, king ofSalamis;[4] and Telamon marriedPeriboea (Eriboea[5]), daughter of King Alcathous ofMegara.
After killing their half-brother,Phocus, Telamon and Peleus fled Aegina and made their way to the island ofSalamis, where KingCychreus welcomed Telamon and befriended him. Telamon married Cychreus' daughter Periboea, who gave birth to Ajax; sometime later, Cychreus gave Telamon his kingdom. In other versions of the myth Cychreus' daughter is namedGlauce, and Periboea is Telamon's second wife, and the daughter of Alcathous.
Telamon also features in both versions ofHeracles' sacking ofTroy, which was ruled by KingLaomedon (orTros in the alternate versions). Before the Trojan War,Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy.
In the King Tros version,Heracles (along with Telamon andOicles) agreed to kill the monster if Tros would give him the horses he received fromZeus as compensation for Zeus' kidnapping Tros' son,Ganymede. Tros agreed; Heracles succeeded and Telamon marriedHesione, Tros' daughter, by whom he siredTeucer.
In the King Laomedon version, Laomedon planned on sacrificing his daughterHesione toPoseidon in the hope of appeasing him. Heracles rescued her at the last minute and killed both the monster and Laomedon and Laomedon's sons, except for Ganymede, who was onMount Olympus, andPodarces, who saved his own life by giving Heracles a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took Hesione as a war prize and married her, and she gave birth by him toTeucer. When Ajax later committed suicide at Troy, Telamon banished Teucer from Salamis for failing to bring his brother home.
InApollodorus'Library, Telamon was almost killed during the siege of Troy. Telamon was the first one to break through the Trojan wall, which enraged Hercules as he was coveting that glory for himself. Hercules was about to cut him down with his sword when Telamon began to quickly assemble an altar out of nearby stones in honor of Hercules. Hercules was so pleased, after the sack of Troy he gave Telamon Hesione as a wife. Hesione requested that she be able to bring her brother Podarces with her. Hercules would not allow it unless Hesione bought Podarces as a slave. Hesione paid for her brother with a veil. Podarces' name was then changed toPriam – which, according to Greek author Apollodorus, was derived from the Greek phrase "to buy".
In architecture, telamons are colossal male figures used as columns.[6] These are also calledatlas, atlantes, oratlantids; they are the male versions ofcaryatids.
The "Telamon" (also "Song of Telamon", "Telamon Song", "Telamon-song") is an ancient Greek song (fl. 5th century BC) only found referred to by name in some ancient Greek plays[7] and laterscholia or commentaries. It is usually thought to be a warlike song[8][9] about Telamon's son Ajax,[10] though some other commentaries thought it to be a mournful song about Telamon himself.[11] It began with: "Son of Telamon, warlike Ajax! They say you are the bravest of the Greeks who came to Troy, next to Achilles."[12]
... theTelamon would have been a plaintive song about the father mourning his son.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Greek text.Greek text available at the same website.
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