In Greek mythology, Oebalus, also spelled Oibalus or Oibalius, (/ˈɛbələs/; Ancient Greek: Οἴβαλος, Oíbalos) was a king of Sparta.

Family

Oibalus was the son of either Cynortas[1] or Argalus.[2] He was the second husband of Princess Gorgophone and thus son-in-law of the hero Perseus. With her or by the Naiad Bateia,[3] Oibalos fathered Tyndareus,[4][5][6] Icarius and Hippocoon, as well as a daughter, Arene, who married her half-brother Aphareus.[7][8] The nymph Pirene[9] and Hyacinth[10][11] were also called the daughter and son of Oebalius respectively. His grandchildren, the Dioscuri, were usually referred as Oibalids[12] or Oebalidae.[13]

Oebalus was often confused with Gorgophone's first husband, Perieres, son of Aeolus. They were separate people, usually unrelated though Oebalus was sometimes said to be Perieres’ son.[3]

Comparative table of Oebalus' family
Relation Names Sources
Hesiod Apollodorus Dictys Hyginus Pausanias Lucian
Parentage Perieres ✓
Argalus ✓
Cynortas ✓
Consort Batia ✓
Gorgophone ✓
Children Tyndareus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Hippocoon ✓
Icarius ✓
Arene ✓ ✓ ✓
Hyacinthus ✓ ✓
Pirene ✓

Notes

  1. ↑ Pausanias, 3.1.3
  2. ↑ Dictys Cretensis, 1.9
  3. 1 2 Apollodorus, 3.10.4
  4. ↑ Hyginus, Fabulae 14.3
  5. ↑ Ovid, Heroides 16.127 ff; not directly named as the son of Oebalus but Helen, the reputed daughter of Tyndareus was called "... a nymph of Oebalus' line ..." which means she was a descendant of the latter through his son Tyndareus.
  6. ↑ Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 1.420 ff; mentioned that Pollux was called the grandson of Oebalus, the father of their father Tyndareus.
  7. ↑ Apollodorus, 3.10.3
  8. ↑ Hyginus, Fabulae 78
  9. ↑ Megalai Ehoiai fr. 258, cited in Pausanias, 2.2.2
  10. ↑ Lucian, Dialogi Deorum 16
  11. ↑ Hyginus, Fabulae 271
  12. ↑ Ovid, Fasti 5.705
  13. ↑ Statius, Thebaid 5.438

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.