Leodes
Reluctant suitor and sacrificial priest who failed to string Odysseus' bow
The Legend of Leodes
Leodes was the son of Oenops and served as the sacrificial priest among Penelope's suitors, performing the rituals that accompanied their daily feasting. He was the first of the suitors to attempt stringing Odysseus' great bow in the contest, but his soft, priestly hands could not bend it, and he gave up quickly, declaring the bow would break the heart and spirit of many men in that hall. Unlike the other suitors, Leodes was described as the most temperate of the group, hating the others' violence and excess. After the slaughter began, he threw himself at Odysseus' knees and begged for mercy, claiming he had never wronged any woman in the household. Odysseus rejected his plea and beheaded him, arguing that as their priest he must have prayed for Odysseus' destruction.
Parents
Oenops
Symbols
Fun Fact
Despite being the gentlest suitor, Odysseus killed him on the logic that a priest must have prayed against him
Explore Further
Eurymachus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Prominent suitor of Penelope who used charm and deception to dominate Odysseus' hall
Antinous
🗡 heroNone recorded
The most arrogant of the suitors who occupied Odysseus' palace in Ithaca
Ctesippus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Violent suitor from Same who threw an ox hoof at the disguised Odysseus
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.
Amphinomus
🗡 heroNone recorded
The most decent of Penelope's suitors, killed despite Odysseus' veiled warning to flee
Iphitus
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Eurytus who gave Odysseus the great bow and was later murdered by Heracles
Haemon
🗡 heroNone recorded
Son of Creon and fiancé of Antigone who died beside her in defiance of his father
Phemius
🗡 heroNone recorded
Ithacan bard forced to sing for the suitors, spared by Odysseus after the slaughter
Idas
🗡 herostrength
Strongest of the Argonauts, who kidnapped his bride from Apollo and later died fighting the Dioscuri.
Iphigenia
🗡 heroPrincess sacrificed for the Trojan War
Iphigenia was Agamemnon's eldest daughter, sacrificed at Aulis to gain winds for Troy — or rescued at the last moment by Artemis and whisked to Tauris.
Megara
🗡 heroNone recorded
First wife of Heracles, given to him as a reward and later killed in his madness
Laius
🗡 heroNone recorded
King of Thebes whose attempt to cheat fate led directly to the Oedipus tragedy