Aepytus
Arcadian king who was killed by a serpent while attempting to enter the forbidden sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi
The Legend of Aepytus
Aepytus was a king of Arcadia, son of Elatus or in some accounts of Cresphontes and Merope. In the Arcadian tradition, he was a ruler who met his end after trespassing into a sacred precinct of Apollo that was forbidden to mortals. A venomous serpent guarding the sanctuary struck and killed him for his presumption. In the Messenian tradition, Aepytus was the son of Cresphontes and Merope who survived the murder of his father and brothers by the usurper Polyphontes. Raised secretly in Arcadia, he returned as a young man to avenge his family, killing Polyphontes and reclaiming the Messenian throne. His story became a model for the righteous avenger in Greek tradition.
Parents
Elatus (or Cresphontes and Merope)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The name Aepytus belongs to two distinct mythological kings whose stories are frequently conflated in ancient sources
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