Laelaps
Magical hound fated never to fail in catching its prey, which created an impossible paradox when set against an uncatchable fox
The Myth of Laelaps
Laelaps was a legendary hound destined by fate to catch whatever it pursued. The dog had a complex chain of ownership: some say Zeus gave it to Europa, others that it was a gift from Artemis to Procris, or from Minos to Procris. Eventually Laelaps came into the possession of Cephalus, a great hunter of Attica. When the Teumessian Fox, a monstrous vixen fated never to be caught, began ravaging the countryside of Thebes, Cephalus was summoned with Laelaps to hunt it. This created an impossible logical paradox: a hound that must catch everything versus a fox that can never be caught. The chase went on endlessly, neither animal able to fulfil its destiny without negating the other's fate. Zeus resolved the contradiction by turning both animals to stone, or in another version, placing them among the stars as the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor.
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Fun Fact
The paradox of Laelaps versus the Teumessian Fox is one of the earliest known logical paradoxes in Western literature
Explore Further
Teumessian Fox
🐉 creatureparadox, fate
A giant fox destined never to be caught, sent to ravage Thebes, creating an impossible paradox when pitted against Laelaps, the hound fated never to miss its prey.
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