Eurymachus
Prominent suitor of Penelope who used charm and deception to dominate Odysseus' hall
The Legend of Eurymachus
Eurymachus was the son of Polybus and the second most influential of Penelope's suitors, using smooth words and false kindness where Antinous used brute force. He was considered the most likely candidate to marry Penelope, and he privately courted her with gifts while publicly maintaining a facade of reasonableness. He had also seduced Melantho, one of the household maids. When Odysseus revealed himself, Eurymachus attempted to negotiate, blaming everything on the now-dead Antinous and offering restitution. Odysseus refused, and Eurymachus charged with his sword but was killed by an arrow to the chest.
Parents
Polybus
Symbols
Fun Fact
Even facing death he tried to talk his way out, blaming the already-dead Antinous for everything
Explore Further
Antinous
🗡 heroNone recorded
The most arrogant of the suitors who occupied Odysseus' palace in Ithaca
Amphinomus
🗡 heroNone recorded
The most decent of Penelope's suitors, killed despite Odysseus' veiled warning to flee
Leodes
🗡 heroNone recorded
Reluctant suitor and sacrificial priest who failed to string Odysseus' bow
Anteia
🗡 heroDesire, false accusation
Queen of Tiryns who falsely accused Bellerophon of assault, setting in motion his legendary trials
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Ctesippus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Violent suitor from Same who threw an ox hoof at the disguised Odysseus
Othryoneus
🗡 heroAmbition, courtship
Trojan ally from Cabesos who sought Cassandra's hand in marriage by promising to drive out the Greeks
Deiphobus
🗡 herowar
Trojan prince who married Helen after Paris was killed, making him the last husband of the most contested woman in myth.
Megara
🗡 heroNone recorded
First wife of Heracles, given to him as a reward and later killed in his madness
Jocasta
🗡 heroNone recorded
Queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son Oedipus after his return
Melantho
🗡 heroNone recorded
Disloyal maidservant in Odysseus' palace who mocked the disguised king
Hippolytus
🗡 heroSon of Theseus destroyed by Aphrodite
Hippolytus was the chaste son of Theseus who rejected Aphrodite and was destroyed when his stepmother Phaedra fell in love with him.