| Eurotas | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Sparta Royal Family | |
 Eurotas, from the modern monument of Leonidas I, Thermopylae | |
| Predecessor | Myles |
| Successor | Lacedaemon |
| Abode | Laconia |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | (a) Myles (b) Lelex and Cleocharia (c) Lelex and Taygete |
| Siblings | unknown |
| Consort | ?Clete |
| Children | Sparta and Tiasa |
In Greek mythology, Eurotas ( /jʊəˈroʊtəs/ ; Ancient Greek: Εὐρώτας) was a king of Laconia.
Eurotas was the son of King Myles of Laconia and grandson of Lelex, eponymous ancestor of the Leleges. [2] The Bibliotheca gave a slight variant of the mythological generation of Eurotas, who was described as the son of Lelex, born from the ground, by his wife Cleocharia. [3] In some accounts, his mother was called Taygete instead. [4] Eurotas had no male heir but he did have two daughters Sparta and Tiasa [5] by Clete [ citation needed ].
Eurotas bequeathed the kingdom to Lacedaemon, the son of Zeus and Taygete, after whom Mount Taygetus was named, according to Pausanias. [6] This Lacedaemon married his daughter Sparta and renamed the state after his wife.
Pausanias says: "It was Eurotas who channelled away the marsh-water from the plains by cutting through to the sea, and when the land was drained he called the river which was left running there the Eurotas." [6] The "cutting through" is seen by Pausanias’ translator and commentator, Peter Levy, S.J., as an explanation of Eurotas (or Vrodamas) Canyon, a ravine north of Skala where the river has cut through the foothills of Taygetus after changing direction to the west of the valley. [7]
River gods are typically represented in Greek art, such as coin motifs, as figures with the bodies of bulls and the faces of humans. If only the face appears, they might wear horns and have wavy hair or be accompanied by fish. Claudius Aelianus states that the Eurotas and other rivers are like bulls. [8]
{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) on Aelian, Variae Historiae, 2.33.In Greek mythology, Euphemus was counted among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene.
In Greek mythology, the name Laodamia referred to:
In Classical Greek mythology, Taygete was a nymph, one of the Pleiades according to the Bibliotheca (3.10.1) and a companion of Artemis, in her archaic role as potnia theron, "Mistress of the animals", with its likely roots in prehistory. Mount Taygetos in Laconia, dedicated to the goddess, was her haunt.
In Greek mythology, Cynortas or Cynortes or Cynortus was a king of Sparta.
In Greek mythology, the name Periclymenus may refer to:
In Greek mythology, Lelex was one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia.
In Greek mythology, Sparta was the ancient Queen of Sparta, which was named in her honour.
In Greek mythology, Cleocharia was a naiad of Laconia who later on became the queen-consort of King Lelex of Lelegia. She was the ancestress of the Spartan royal family and gave birth to Eurotas. Eurotas had a daughter named Sparta, who married Lacedaemon. The latter named the city of Sparta after his wife. However, the city's name would also be his own, as it was called either Lacedaemon or Sparta interchangeably.
Lacedaemon or Lacedemon was the eponymous king of Lacedaemon in classical Greek mythology.
In Greek mythology, the name Perimede refers to:
In Greek mythology, Amyclas or Amyclus was a king of Sparta and the founder of Amyclae in central Laconia.
In Greek mythology, Tiasa was a Naiad nymph of a river near Amyclae, Sparta. She was a Laconian princess as the daughter of King Eurotas and Cleta, and thus sister of Sparta.
In Greek mythology, King Argalus was a leader of the Lacedaemonid Greeks from the age of legend, now treated as being the Bronze Age in Greece.
In Greek mythology, Perieres was the 'overbold' king of Messene, an ancient polis in southern Peloponnese.
In Greek mythology, Arsinoe, sometimes spelled Arsinoë,, was the name of the following individuals.
In Greek mythology, Icarius was a Spartan king and a champion runner.
In Greek mythology, Lelex was a king of Megara and regarded as the ancestor of the Leleges.
In Greek mythology, Lelex may refer to the following personages:
In Greek mythology, Pterelaus was the son of Lelex, the pre-Hellenic king of Megara whose descendants spread across Greece and beyond. Thus, he was the possible brother of Bias and Cleson.
In Greek mythology, Teleboas may refer to the following figures:
Media related to Eurotas at Wikimedia Commons