This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Abderus is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Abderus (Greek: Ἄβδηρος) was in Greek mythology a divine hero, a son of Hermes by some accounts, and eponym of Abdera.1
The paternity of Abderus differs according to which source is referred to. Some say he was the son of the god Hermes. But according to other writers, he was the son of Thromius the Locrian.2 Still others claimed he was the son of Heracles' friend, Opian Menoetius, which would make Abderus a brother to Patroclus, the famous friend of Achilles who died at Troy.
He is mostly known for his tragic role in Heracles' Eighth Labor. Along with others, he helped Heracles capture the four savage mares of Diomedes the king of the Thracian Bistones. Heracles overpowered the grooms and drove the Mares of Diomedes into the sea and left them in the care of Abderus. However, while Heracles was away, the horses devoured Abderus. In revenge, Heracles fed Diomedes alive to his own mares. Heracles founded the city of Abdera near Abderus' tomb, where agones (Greek: ἀγῶνες), athletic games consisting of boxing, pancratium and wrestling were held in his honor (but chariot races were banned in respect of how he died).
In some very different traditions, instead of helping Heracles with his Eight Labor, Abderus (or Abdertis) was a servant of the Thracian King Diomedes, and was killed by Heracles together with his master and his four men-devouring horses.3
References
Footnotes
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Abderus", in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1, pp. 2
- ^ Apollodorus ii. 5. § 8; Strabo, Geographica vii. p. 331.
- ^ Hyginus, Fabulae 30; cf. Philostratus, Heroicus 3. § 1 ; 10. § 2.
Other sources
- On the agones: Philostratus II 25.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 25 December 2008, at 19:28.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Abderus".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.