Actor (mythology)
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Actor (Greek Ἄκτωρ) is a very common name in Greek mythology. Here is a selection of characters that share this name (which means 'leader', from the verb άγω: to lead or carry, to convey, bring):
- A king of Phthia, said to be son of King Deion of Phocis and Diomede, or of King Myrmidon and Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus. Some say that Actor died childless, but others say that he is the father of Eurytion, his successor.
- Actor, son of Deion and Diomede, daughter of Xuthus, thus a brother of Asteropeia, Aenotus, Phylacus, and Cephalus. This Actor married Aegina, daughter of the river god Asopus, and had several children, among them Menoetius. Menoetius was counted among the Argonauts, and was the father of Patroclus (Achilles' best friend or lover).[1][2][3][4]
- Actor, son of Azeus, son of Clymenus, was ruler of the Minyans of Orchomenus. He was father of Astyoche, who was seduced by the war-god Ares, and bore him twin sons, named Ascalaphus and Ialmenus. This last two led the Minyan contingent to the Trojan War.
- Actor, son of Phorbas and Hyrmine, thus a brother of Augeas. He was king of Elis, and founded the city of Hyrmina, which he named after his mother. This Actor married Molione and became by her father of the twins known as the Molionides, Cteatus and Eurytus.[4][5][6]
- Actor, son of Hippasus, one of the Argonauts.
- Actor, son of Oenops. He was among the defenders of the Borraean Gate at Thebes when the Seven Against Thebes attacked the city.
- Actor, father of Sthenelus. Sthenelus followed Heracles in his campaign against the amazons and was killed by them.
- Actor, one of the companions of the exiled Aeneas.[7]. He is probably the same who in another passage is called an Auruncan, and of whose conquered lance Turnus made a boast.[8] This story seems to have given rise to the proverbial saying "Actoris spolium" ("the spoil of Actor"), for any poor spoil in general.[4][9]
- Actor, father of Echecles, the man who received Polymele and her son Eudorus in his home. Eudorus became commander of a company of Myrmidons during the Trojan war.
- Actor, a warrior in the army of the Seven Against Thebes. He saw when the chasm opened in the earth that swallowed Amphiaraus.
- Actor, was a Lapith. He was killed by the Centaur Clanis.
[edit] References
- ^ Apollodorus, i. 9. § 4, 16, iii. 10. § 8
- ^ Pindar, Olympian Odes ix. 75
- ^ Homer, Iliad xi. 785, xvi. 14
- ^ a b c Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), “Actor (1), (2), (3)”, in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, vol. 1, Boston, MA, pp. 17
- ^ Apollodorus, ii. 7. § 2
- ^ Pausaniasv. I. § 8, viii. 14. § 6
- ^ Virgil, Aeneid ix. 500
- ^ Virgil, Aeneid xii. 94
- ^ Juv. ii. 100
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).
