Apollodorus Library 2.4.6

ed. Sir James George Frazer

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Library. Apollodorus. ed. Sir James George Frazer. Cambridge, MA. 1921.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Library (English) (Apollodorus. The Library, Vol 1-2. Frazer, James George, Sir, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.)

Editions (1)
Βιβλιοθήκη Perseus (Apollodorus. The Library, Vol 1-2. Frazer, James George, Sir, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.) — 2.4.6 focus

Notes on the current edition

Library

1. Taphius, the father of Pterelaus, was a son of Hippothoe, who was a daughter of Mestor. See above, Apollod. 2.4.5 . Thus Mestor was not the maternal grandfather, but the great-grandfather of the sons of Pterelaus. Who the maternal grandfather of the sons of Pterelaus was we do not know, since the name of their mother is not recorded. The words “their maternal grandfather” are probably a gloss which has crept into the text. See the Critical Note. Apart from the difficulty created by these words, it is hard to suppose that Electryon was still reigning over Mycenae at the time of this expedition of the sons of Pterelaus, since, being a son of Perseus, he was a brother of their great-grandfather Mestor.
2. Compare Ap. Rhod., Argon. i.747-751 , with the Scholiast on Ap. Rhod., Argon. i.747 ; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 932 , whose account seems based on that of Apollodorus.
3. Compare Hes. Sh. 14ff. , where it is said that Amphitryon might not go in to his wife Alcmena until he had avenged the death of her brothers, the sons of Electryon, who had been slain in the fight with the Taphians. The tradition points to a custom which enjoined an avenger of blood to observe strict chastity until he had taken the life of his enemy.
4. A similar account of the death of Electryon is given by Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 932 , who seems to follow Apollodorus. According to this version of the legend, the slaying of Electryon by Amphitryon was purely accidental. But according to Hes. Sh. 11ff. ; Hes. Sh. 79ff. , the two men quarrelled over the cattle, and Amphitryon killed Electryon in hot blood. Compare the Scholiast on Hom. Il. xiv.323 .
5. That is, for the killing of Electryon. Compare Hes. Sh. 79ff. ; Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 932 ; Eur. Herc. 16ff.
6. The animal had its lair at Teumessus, and hence was known as the Teumessian fox. See Paus. 9.19.1 ; Ant. Lib. 41 ; Apostolius, Cent. xvi.42 ; Suidas, s.v. Τευμησία ; Tzetzes, Chiliades i.553ff. (who refers to Apollodorus as his authority) ; Ov. Met. 7.762ff. By an easy application of the rationalistic instrument, which cuts so many mythological knots, the late Greek writer Palaephatus (De Incredib. 8) converted the ferocious animal into a gentleman ( καλὸς κἀγαθὸς) named Fox, of a truculent disposition and predatory habits, who proved a thorn in the flesh to the Thebans, until Cephalus rid them of the nuisance by knocking him on the head.