Scyrius

🗡 heroΣκύριος

Eponymous Heroes, Island Foundation

Legendary king who gave his name to the island of Scyros, where Achilles was hidden and where he lat‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌er died.

The Legend of Scyrius

Scyrius was the eponymous hero of the Aegean island of Scyros.‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ As with many eponymous heroes, the tradition provides him primarily as an explanatory figure — he existed, the myth says, therefore the island is called Scyros. The island itself became important in the Achilles tradition: Thetis hid the young Achilles there, disguised among the daughters of King Lycomedes, to prevent him from joining the Trojan War and fulfilling the prophecy of his early death. There Achilles fathered Neoptolemus on Lycomedes's daughter Deidamia. It was also on Scyros that Achilles' ashes were eventually buried alongside those of Patroclus, with a great tomb mound that sailors could see from the sea. Scyrius's own role is minimal, but his island occupies an unexpectedly large place in the Achilles mythology — the place of his hiding, his fatherhood, and his final burial.

Parents

Unnamed divine or royal parents

Symbols

island rockseatomb mound

Fun Fact

Scyros is one of the few places in Greek myth that served as the location for both the beginning and the end of Achilles' story — his hiding as a boy and his burial as a hero.