Cercyon

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Cercyon ("boar's tail") is a figure in Greek mythology, the King of Eleusis, and a very strong man. He was the son of Poseidon and one of the daughters of Amphictyon, or of Branchus and the nymph Argiope, or of Hephaestus. He had two children, Alope and Hippothous.

He stood on the roads around Eleusis and challenged passers-by to a wrestling match. The loser (always the passer-by) was murdered, though Cercyon promised his kingdom to anyone who won. He was eventually beaten and killed by Theseus, who took the kingdom of Eleusis.

Cercyon's daughter, Alope, had an affair with (or was raped by) Poseidon, and she begat Hippothoon (or Hippothous). Cercyon had his daughter buried alive, but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near Eleusis.

Cercyon is also the name of the son of Agamedes, and the father of Hippothous, who succeeded Agapenor as king of Arcadia when he did not return from Troy.

Cercyon

See also