Antiphates
King of the Laestrygonians, a race of man-eating giants encountered by Odysseus on his voyage home
The Legend of Antiphates
Antiphates was the king of the Laestrygonians, a fearsome race of giant cannibals whose land Odysseus reached during his wanderings after the fall of Troy. When Odysseus sent scouts to investigate the land, they encountered Antiphates' daughter at a spring, who led them to the king's hall. Antiphates immediately seized one of the scouts and devoured him. The surviving scouts fled back to the ships in terror. Antiphates summoned his people, and the Laestrygonians hurled massive boulders from the cliffs down upon the Greek fleet trapped in the narrow harbour. They destroyed eleven of the twelve ships and speared the drowning sailors like fish, carrying them off to eat. Only Odysseus's own ship escaped, having been moored outside the harbour. The encounter was one of the most devastating losses of the entire voyage.
Parents
Poseidon (in some accounts)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Laestrygonian attack destroyed eleven of Odysseus's twelve ships, the single greatest loss of his entire journey
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 herokingship
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 herokingship
King of Athens who married off his daughters Procne and Philomela, both of whom suffered terribly at the hands of Tereus.
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🗡 heroNone recorded
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🗡 heroLeadership, Trojan War, Survival
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