Eurylochus
heroSecond-in-command of Odysseus's crew who led the mutiny that killed the cattle of Helios and doomed the entire ship.
The Myth
He was the only man who did not eat Circe's food — his caution saved him once, and his rebellion killed him later. Eurylochus was Odysseus's brother-in-law and the crew's second voice. At Circe's palace, he alone refused to enter and eat, escaping the transformation into pigs. His caution saved the scouting party. But on Thrinacia, it was Eurylochus who convinced the starving crew to slaughter Helios's sacred cattle while Odysseus slept. His argument was practical: better to die by divine wrath on a full stomach than starve slowly on a beach. Zeus killed them all. The same instinct — distrust of the unknown — made him wise at Circe's door and fatal at Helios's pasture.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Eurylochus married Odysseus's sister Ctimene — making the mutiny a family betrayal as well.
Explore Further
Circe
godA powerful sorceress who lived on the island of Aeaea. Circe transformed Odysseus's men into swine...
Thrinacia
placeThe mythical island where the sacred cattle of Helios grazed, whose slaughter by Odysseus's...
Odysseus
heroThe cleverest of the Greek heroes, whose ten-year journey home from Troy is one of the greatest...
Odysseus (Trickster)
heroOdysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose...
Circe (Sorceress)
godDaughter of Helios and powerful sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men into pigs on the island of...
Helios
godThe Titan who drove the sun chariot across the sky each day, providing light to the world. Helios...
Helios (Sun God)
godHelios was the Titan god who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day — seeing...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Zeus (King)
godZeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme...
Zeus Xenios
godAn epithet of Zeus as guardian of guests and the sacred law of hospitality (xenia), whose violation...
Cattle of Helios
conceptSacred immortal cattle of the sun god on the island of Thrinacia, whose slaughter by Odysseus's men...
Absyrtus
heroSon of King Aeetes of Colchis, murdered and dismembered by his sister Medea to slow their father's...