Eurytus’s Family Tree

About Eurytus →

Family

• Iole(child),Iphitus(child)

  Eurytus, king of Oechalia, fathered Iole and Iphitus. Iole was offered as prize in Eurytus's archery contest, and Iphitus alone supported honoring Heracles' victory.

• Melaneus(parent)

  Melaneus, a legendary archer and king of Oechalia, fathered Eurytus, who inherited his father's supreme skill with the bow. Pausanias records this lineage in his Description of Greece.

Enemy of

• Heracles

  Eurytus refused to give Iole to Heracles despite losing the archery contest, fearing Heracles' madness. This insult led Heracles to eventually raise an army and destroy Oechalia.

Slain by

• Apollo

  Apollo slew Eurytus in anger after the mortal archer dared to challenge the god to an archery contest. Odysseus recounts this tale in Homer's Odyssey (8.224-228) as a cautionary example.

• Heracles

  Heracles sacked Oechalia and killed King Eurytus to claim Iole after Eurytus refused to honor the archery contest he had won.

Associated with

• Apollo

  Apollo taught Eurytus the art of archery, making him the finest mortal bowman of his age. Homer's Odyssey (21.31) credits Apollo as the source of Eurytus's legendary skill.

• Bow of Eurytus

  The Bow of Eurytus was the famed weapon of the master archer Eurytus of Oechalia. It passed through his son Iphitus to Odysseus, who used it to slay the suitors. Homer's Odyssey (21.31-35) traces its provenance.

• Deianira

  Heracles' capture of Iole after sacking Oechalia provoked Deianira's fatal jealousy. Eurytus's refusal to give Iole to Heracles thus set in motion the chain of events that led to the hero's death.

• Iphitus

  Among Eurytus's children, Iphitus alone urged his father to honor the archery contest and give Iole to Heracles. This loyalty to guest-right set Iphitus apart and led to his friendship with Odysseus.