Telegonus
heroSon of Odysseus and Circe who unknowingly killed his own father, fulfilling a prophecy that death would come to Odysseus from the sea.
The Myth
He killed his own father with a spear tipped with a stingray's spine — and neither knew who the other was until it was too late. Telegonus grew up on Aeaea with Circe and sailed to Ithaca to find his father. Landing on the island, he raided for supplies. Odysseus came to defend his kingdom and Telegonus killed him with a spear made from a stingray's barb — death from the sea, as Tiresias had cryptically prophesied. When Telegonus realized what he had done, he brought Odysseus's body back to Aeaea. In the lost Telegony, Telegonus then married Penelope, and Telemachus married Circe — a disturbing set of cross-generational marriages.
Symbols
Explore Further
Aeaea (Isle of Circe)
placeThe mythical island home of the enchantress Circe, where Odysseus's men were transformed into swine...
Circe
godA powerful sorceress who lived on the island of Aeaea. Circe transformed Odysseus's men into swine...
Circe (Sorceress)
godDaughter of Helios and powerful sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men into pigs on the island of...
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...
Penelope
heroThe wife of Odysseus who waited twenty years for his return, fending off 108 suitors through clever...
Telemachus
heroTelemachus was the son of Odysseus who grew from a helpless boy into a young man during his...
Tiresias
heroThe most famous seer in Greek mythology, blinded by the gods but given the gift of prophecy in...
Aeaea
placeAeaea was the mythical island home of Circe, the divine sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men...
Ithaca
placeA small, rocky island in the Ionian Sea that was the homeland of Odysseus. His desperate longing to...
Hesione
heroTrojan princess chained to a rock as sacrifice to a sea monster, rescued by Heracles, then given to...
Tlepolemus
heroSon of Heracles who killed his great-uncle, fled to Rhodes, and led nine ships to Troy where...