Linus- Greek DemigodDemigod
Also known as: Linos and Λίνος
Description
Son of Apollo, credited with inventing melody and rhythm. He took on the young Heracles as a lyre pupil and struck the boy for his mistakes. Heracles grabbed the instrument and killed him with it, then was acquitted under the law of Rhadamanthys.
Mythology & Lore
The First Musician
Son of Apollo, Linus was credited with inventing melody and rhythm. In the Argive tradition recorded by Pausanias, his mother was Psamathe, daughter of the king of Argos, who exposed the infant in fear of her father's wrath. Shepherds found and raised the child, but dogs tore him apart. The Argives mourned him with a dirge they sang at harvest and at funerals, the ailinos. In the Theban tradition, his mother was the Muse Urania, and he taught mortals the art of song.
Homer placed the dirge for Linus on the Shield of Achilles: a boy sings the linos-song while workers gather the vintage. Diogenes Laertius credits him with cosmogonic poems on the creation of the world.
Teacher of Heracles
Apollodorus recounts that Linus took on the young Heracles as a pupil in the lyre. When Linus struck him for his mistakes, Heracles flew into a rage and killed his teacher with the instrument. Heracles was put on trial for the killing but acquitted by citing the law of Rhadamanthys, which permitted killing in self-defense against an aggressor. After the acquittal, Amphitryon sent the dangerous youth away to tend cattle on Mount Cithaeron.
Relationships
- Family
- Apollo· Parent⚠ Disputed