Tlepolemus
Tlepolemus, son of Heracles, killed an aged man named Licymnius, and the myth never settled on why. One account held it was an accident. Another said the blow was deliberate, driven by anger. That killing sent him into exile, onto a new island, and eventually into the greatest war in Greek tradition. Behind that story lies a disputed parentage, a founding act on a famous island, and an oath sworn over Helen of Sparta. There is also a wife who outlived him and sought a reckoning of her own.
Astyoche, daughter of Phylas, king of Ephyra, is the mother most ancient accounts assign to Tlepolemus. A second tradition names Astydameia instead, placing her as a daughter of either Amyntor or Ormenus. The same pattern of conflicting sources surrounds the killing of Licymnius, the act that ended Tlepolemus's time in his homeland.
The Bibliotheca records the death of Licymnius as an accident. Tlepolemus had been striking a servant when Licymnius, Heracles' aged maternal uncle, ran between them. The blow meant for the servant landed on the old man instead. Pindar gave a different account: the killing was intentional, driven by anger and nothing else.
Accompanied by his wife Polyxo, a woman of Argive origin, Tlepolemus sailed to Rhodes. His homeland was closed to him after Licymnius fell. On Rhodes, he did not simply find a place to settle. He divided the island into three portions and founded three city-states: Cameirus, Ialysus, and Lindus.
The Rhodian cities he had founded would soon lose their creator to a war he was bound by oath to fight.
Hyginus listed Tlepolemus among the men who had once sought to marry Helen of Sparta. That status carried an obligation he could not escape.
Before Helen's marriage was settled, her father Tyndareus required every suitor to swear a binding oath. Each man promised to defend whichever suitor she chose against any future challenge to that marriage. When the war for Helen began, every man who had sworn was required to fight. Tlepolemus answered with nine ships from Rhodes.
Nine ships was his contribution to a fleet assembled from across the Greek world. At Troy, those ships put him on the front lines from the moment battle was joined.
Sarpedon led the Lycians, Troy's powerful allies from the east, and claimed to be a son of Zeus himself. Tlepolemus chose to challenge that claim before any weapons were raised.
Facing him, Tlepolemus said openly that Sarpedon lacked courage. He also questioned whether Zeus was truly Sarpedon's father, stating the doubt before they clashed. Then he attacked.
Tlepolemus drew first blood, wounding Sarpedon with his spear. Sarpedon's return blow killed him. Homer places this encounter on the first day of fighting that the Iliad recounts at length.
His wife Polyxo did not let that death go unanswered.
Pausanias recorded one account of what happened to Helen after the war. In his telling, Polyxo arranged Helen's death to avenge her husband. The Rhodians on the island shared her assignment of blame.
Polyaenus preserved a rival version. In his account, Menelaus anticipated the danger and dressed a servant woman in Helen's clothes. The Rhodians killed the servant, believing she was Helen. Menelaus and the real Helen escaped while the Rhodians were misled.
Common questions
Who was Tlepolemus in Greek mythology?
Tlepolemus was a son of Heracles and the leader of the Rhodian contingent in the Trojan War. Ancient sources name his mother as either Astyoche, daughter of Phylas king of Ephyra, or Astydameia, daughter of Amyntor or Ormenus. He appears in Homer's Iliad, where he is killed by the Lycian commander Sarpedon.
Why did Tlepolemus flee to Rhodes?
Tlepolemus fled to Rhodes after killing Licymnius, the aged maternal uncle of Heracles. The Bibliotheca describes the death as an accident; Pindar states that the killing was intentional and driven by anger.
What three cities did Tlepolemus found on Rhodes?
Tlepolemus founded Cameirus, Ialysus, and Lindus on the island of Rhodes. He divided Rhodes into three portions and established each as a separate city-state. He was accompanied to Rhodes by his wife Polyxo, a woman of Argive origin.
How did Tlepolemus come to fight in the Trojan War?
Tlepolemus had been listed by Hyginus among the suitors of Helen of Sparta, which bound him by the oath of Tyndareus. That oath required every former suitor to defend Helen's chosen husband against any challenger. Tlepolemus sailed to Troy with nine ships from Rhodes.
How did Tlepolemus die in the Iliad?
Tlepolemus died fighting Sarpedon, the Lycian commander, on the first day of battle recounted in the Iliad. He taunted Sarpedon by questioning his courage and his divine parentage as a son of Zeus, then attacked. Tlepolemus wounded Sarpedon with his spear but was killed by Sarpedon's return blow.
What did Polyxo do to avenge Tlepolemus after the Trojan War?
According to Pausanias, Polyxo, the wife of Tlepolemus, arranged the death of Helen of Sparta to avenge her husband. Polyaenus recorded a rival version in which Menelaus disguised a servant as Helen, the Rhodians killed the servant by mistake, and Menelaus and Helen escaped.
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