Laertes - Wikipedia Laertes From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from Laërtes) Jump to navigation Jump to search Odysseus meets his father Laertes on his return to Ithaca (Theodoor van Thulden, 1600) legendary king of Ithaca For the Shakespearean character, see Laertes (Hamlet). For the town of ancient Cilicia, see Laertes (Cilicia). In Greek mythology, Laertes (/leɪˈɜːrtiːz/; Greek: Λαέρτης, Laértēs Greek pronunciation: [laː.ér.tɛːs]; also spelled Laërtes) was the father of Odysseus, an Argonaut, and a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. His title was King of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland,[1] which he presumably inherited from his father Arcesius and grandfather Cephalus. His realm included Ithaca and surrounding islands, and perhaps even the neighboring part of the mainland of other Greek city-states. Contents 1 Family 2 Mythology 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Family[edit] Laertes was the son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa and the father of Odysseus (who was thus called Laertiádēs, Λαερτιάδης, "son of Laertes") and Ctimene by his wife Anticlea, daughter of the thief Autolycus. Another account says that Laertes was not Odysseus's true father; rather, it was Sisyphus, who had seduced Anticlea.[2] Mythology[edit] Laertes stays away from Odysseus' home while Odysseus is gone. He keeps to himself on his farm, overcome with grief over Odysseus' absence and alone after his wife, Anticleia, died from grief herself. Odysseus finally comes to see Laertes after he has killed all the suitors competing for Penelope. He finds his father spading a plant, looking old and tired and filled with sadness. Odysseus keeps his identity to himself at first, identifying himself only as Quarrelman, only son of King Allwoes (in the Fitzgerald translation of Homer),[3] but when he sees how disappointed Laertes is to learn that this "stranger" has no news of his son, Odysseus reveals himself, and proves his identity by reciting all the trees he received from Laertes when he was a boy. This emphasis on the land of Ithaca itself perhaps signifies that Odysseus has finally reconnected with his homeland, and his journey is over.[4] Laertes had trained Odysseus in husbandry. After their reunion, the two of them go to Odysseus' home to fend off the families of the dead suitors. Athena infuses vigour into Laertes, so he can help Odysseus. He kills Eupeithes, father of Antinous.[5] See also[edit] List of Greek mythological figures References[edit] ^ Entry Κεφαλλῆνες in Homeric Dictionary by Georg Autenrieth. ^ E.g. Servius on Aeneid 6.529. ^ Homer (1998). The Odyssey: The Fitzgerald Translation. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Macmillan. pp. lx. ISBN 9781466801479. ^ Homer. Odyssey. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Canada: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2000. Print. ^ Homer, Odyssey XXIV; Ovid, Metamorphoses VIII, 315. External links[edit] Media related to Laertes at Wikimedia Commons v t e Characters in the Odyssey House of Odysseus Penelope (wife) Telemachus (son) Ctimene (sister) Anticlea (mother) Laërtes (father) Autolycus (grandfather) Eurycleia (chief servant) Mentor (advisor) Phemius (musician) Eumaeus (swineherd) Philoetius (cowherd) Melanthius (goatherd) Melantho (maid) Argos (pet-dog) Monarchs and royals Alcinous of Phaeacia Arete of Phaeacia Nestor of Pylos Menelaus of Sparta Helen Princess Nausicaa of Phaeacia Agamemnon of Mycenae Gods Aeolus (wind god) Athena Apollo Artemis Atlas Calypso Circe Helios Hermes Poseidon Zeus Oceanus Old Man of the Sea Others Achilles Ajax Amphimedon Anticlus Antiphates Antiphus Aretus Cyclopes Demodocus Demoptolemus Deucalion Dolius Echephron Echetus Elpenor Eupeithes Euryalus Eurylochus Halitherses Heracles Idomeneus Irus Kikonians Laodamas Laestrygones Medon Mentes Mesaulius Peisistratus Perimedes Perseus Polites Polydamna Polyphemus Scylla and Charybdis Sirens Stratichus Suitors of Penelope Tiresias Theoclymenus Thrasymedes Suitors Agelaus Amphinomus Antinous Ctesippus Eurymachus Leodes Authority control SUDOC: 238333132 This article relating to Greek mythology is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laertes&oldid=1004879842" Categories: Argonauts Characters in the Odyssey Kings in Greek mythology Greek mythology stubs Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Articles containing Greek-language text Commons category link is on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers All stub articles Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Languages Български Brezhoneg Català Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego Íslenska Italiano עברית Latina Lietuvių Nederlands 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Português Română Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Suomi Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 February 2021, at 21:37 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement