Cercopes
Twin monkey-like tricksters who robbed Heracles in his sleep and were punished by being hung upside down from a pole, creating one of Greek mythology's few comic episodes.
The Myth of Cercopes
The Cercopes were a pair of mischievous brothers — Passalus and Acmon, or Eurybatus and Olus in different traditions — notorious for their thieving and deception. Their mother Theia had warned them to beware of "Melampygos" (Black-Bottom). When they encountered the sleeping Heracles and tried to steal his weapons, the hero woke and slung them upside down from a pole across his shoulders, like game animals. Hanging behind him, the Cercopes got a close view of Heracles' hairy backside, darkened by sun. Realising this was the "Melampygos" their mother warned about, they burst out laughing and made such clever jokes that Heracles, amused, released them. In later versions, Zeus transformed them into monkeys for their persistent dishonesty, or into stone — some traditions placed them on the volcanic island of Pithecusae (Ischia), whose name means "monkey island."
Parents
Theia (mother)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Cercopes story is rare in Greek mythology for being genuinely funny — a slapstick comedy in a tradition dominated by tragedy. The moment where the tricksters, hung upside down behind Heracles, laugh at his hairy backside and joke their way to freedom is pure physical comedy. Ischia (ancient Pithecusae, "monkey island") off Naples was named after them, making it the only Italian island named after a mythological butt joke.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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