Eurystheus

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek Εὐρυσθεύς (Eurustheús).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Eurystheus

  1. (Greek mythology) A Mycenaean king of Tiryns (or, according to some authors, of Argos), in Argolis, who imposed the twelve labours on Heracles.
    • 1991, Transactions of the American Philological Association, Scholars Press, page 129:
      "But why hasn't Iolaus killed Eurystheus?," she asks. In a witticism very much akin to Electra's "But where are the messengers?," Euripides has Alcmene ask, essentially, why the plot she is part of has just swerved from its expected course: Iolaus is supposed to kill Eurystheus, by tradition.
    • 1993, Timothy Gantz, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Volume 2, Johns Hopkins University Press, page 381:
      Already we have seen from Iliad 19 and the birth of Eurystheus that at an early stage of the tradition Herakles was destined to be subordinate to his cousin.
    • 2003, Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood, Tragedy and Athenian Religion[1], Rowman & Littlefield (Lexington Books), page 323:
      There is a different kind of religious reference at 989-90, where Eurystheus claims that it was Hera who had afflicted him with the enmity towards Heracles.

Usage notes

Derived terms

  • Eurysthean

Translations

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Εὐρυσθεύς (Eurustheús).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Eurystheus m sg (genitive Eurystheī); second declension

  1. Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus, grandson of Perseus, and king of Mycenae

Declension

Second-declension noun, singular only.

singular
nominative Eurystheus
genitive Eurystheī
dative Eurystheō
accusative Eurystheum
ablative Eurystheō
vocative Eurysthee

References