Telamon - Wikipedia 01/01/2025, 12:07

Telamon
In Greek mythology, Telamon (/ˈtɛləmən/; Ancient Greek: Τελαµών, Telamōn means "broad
strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina,[1] and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder
brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argonauts,[2] and was present at
the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In the Iliad, he was the father of Greek heroes Ajax the Great
and Teucer by different mothers. Some accounts mention a third son of his, Trambelus.[3] He
and Peleus were also close friends of Heracles, assisting him on his expeditions against the
Amazons and his assault on Troy (see below).

In an earlier account recorded by Pherecydes of Athens, Telamon and Peleus were not brothers,
but friends.[4] According to this account, Telamon was the son of Actaeus and Glauce, with the
latter being the daughter of Cychreus, king of Salamis;[4] and Telamon married Periboea
(Eriboea[5]), daughter of King Alcathous of Megara.

Mythology
After killing their half-brother, Phocus, Telamon and Peleus fled Aegina and made their way to
the island of Salamis, where King Cychreus welcomed Telamon and befriended him. Telamon
married Cychreus' daughter Periboea, who gave birth to Ajax; sometime later, Cychreus gave
Telamon his kingdom. In other versions of the myth Cychreus' daughter is named Glauce, and
Periboea is Telamon's second wife, and the daughter of Alcathous.

Trojan War
Telamon also features in both versions of Heracles' sacking of Troy, which was ruled by King
Laomedon (or Tros in the alternate versions). Before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea
monster to attack Troy.

Tros version

In the King Tros version, Heracles (along with Telamon and Oicles) agreed to kill the monster if
Tros would give him the horses he received from Zeus as compensation for Zeus' kidnapping
Tros' son, Ganymede. Tros agreed; Heracles succeeded and Telamon married Hesione, Tros'
daughter, by whom he sired Teucer.

Laomedon version

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In the King Laomedon version, Laomedon planned

on sacrificing his daughter Hesione to Poseidon in
the hope of appeasing him. Heracles rescued her at
the last minute and killed both the monster and
Laomedon and Laomedon's sons, except for
Ganymede, who was on Mount Olympus, and
Podarces, who saved his own life by giving Heracles
a golden veil Hesione had made. Telamon took
Hesione as a war prize and married her, and she
gave birth by him to Teucer. When Ajax later
committed suicide at Troy, Telamon banished
Teucer from Salamis for failing to bring his brother
home.

Bibliotheca version

In Apollodorus' Library, Telamon was almost killed

during the siege of Troy. Telamon was the first one
to break through the Trojan wall, which enraged
Hercules as he was coveting that glory for himself.
Hercules was about to cut him down with his sword The marriage of Telamon and Hesione or
Hesione's farewell to her brother Priam under
when Telamon began to quickly assemble an altar
the attention of Heracles and Telamon on the
out of nearby stones in honor of Hercules. Hercules right, detail of fresco from the triclinium of the
was so pleased, after the sack of Troy he gave House of Octavius Quartio at Pompeii
Telamon Hesione as a wife. Hesione requested that
she be able to bring her brother Podarces with her.
Hercules would not allow it unless Hesione bought Podarces as a slave. Hesione paid for her
brother with a veil. Podarces' name was then changed to Priam – which, according to Greek
author Apollodorus, was derived from the Greek phrase "to buy".

In architecture
In architecture, telamons are colossal male figures used as columns.[6] These are also called
atlas, atlantes, or atlantids; they are the male versions of caryatids.

The Telamon
The "Telamon" (also "Song of Telamon", "Telamon Song", "Telamon-song") is an ancient Greek
song (fl. 5th century BC) only found referred to by name in some ancient Greek plays[7] and
later scholia or commentaries. It is usually thought to be a warlike song[8][9] about Telamon's
son Ajax,[10] though some other commentaries thought it to be a mournful song about Telamon

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himself.[11] It began with: "Son of Telamon, warlike Ajax! They say

you are the bravest of the Greeks who came to Troy, next to
Achilles."[12]

Architectural Telamon /

atlantides on the Wayne

County, Ohio courthouse

References
1. Apollodorus, 1.9.16 (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromd
oc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Telamon)
2. Apollodorus, 1.9.16 (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.16&fromd
oc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Telamon)
3. Parthenius, 26 (https://topostext.org/work/550#26) from the Thrax of Euphorion; Tzetzes ad
Lycophron, 467 (https://topostext.org/work/860#467)
4. Apollodorus, 3.12.6 (https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.6&fromd
oc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Telamon)
5. Tzetzes, John (2015). Allegories of the Iliad. Translated by Goldwyn, Adam; Kokkini,
Dimitra. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England:
Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. pp. 41, Prologue 526. ISBN 978-0-674-96785-4.
6. Hersey, George (1998). The Lost Meaning of Classical Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press. pp. 125, 126.
7. Aristophanes. Lysistrata. line 1236–1238.
8. Powell, Anton; Hodkinson, Stephen (1994). The Shadow of Sparta (https://archive.org/detail
s/shadowsparta00powe). Routledge. pp. 39 (https://archive.org/details/shadowsparta00pow
e/page/n47)-40.
9. Henderson, Jeffrey (1996). "Lysistrata". Three Plays by Aristophanes. Routledge. p. 220., or
other annotated versions of Lysistrata.
10. Eustathius of Thessalonica. Παρεκβολαὶ εἰς τὴν Ὁμήρου Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν
[Commentaries on Homer's Iliad and Odyssey]. Vol. 2 (Roman ed.). p. 285.. The song took
this name from its first line, "Son of Telamon".
11. Erasmus. Adagia. 3, 4, 10: "Canere de Telamone". "... the Telamon would have been a
plaintive song about the father mourning his son."
12. English translation of the Telamon quoted from "A Historical Essay on the Origin and
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12. English translation of the Telamon quoted from "A Historical Essay on the Origin and
Progress of National Song" (https://books.google.com/books?id=6a4iAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22
Son+of+Telamon,+warlike+Ajax%22&pg=PR15-IA9). A Select Collection of English Songs.
Vol. I. 1783. p. x.

Sources
pseudo-Apollodorus. Bibliotheca. I, viii 2; ix 16; II, vi 4; III, xii 6–7.
pseudo-Apollodorus (1921). "Online version" (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc
=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022). Bibliotheca [The Library]. Perseus Digital Library. Translated
by Frazer, Sir James George. Cambridge, MA / London, UK: Harvard University Press /
William Heinemann. ISBN 0-674-99135-4 – via Tufts University. Greek text (http://www.pers
eus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021). "Greek text available at the
same website."
Apollonius Rhodius. Argonautica. I, 90–94.
Apollonius Rhodius (1912). "Online version" (https://topostext.org/work/126). Argonautica.
R.C. Loeb Classical Library. Vol. 1. Translated by Seaton, Robert Cooper. London, UK:
William Heinemann – via Topos Text Project (topostext.org).
Apollonius Rhodius (1912). "Greek text" (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Per
seus:text:1999.01.0227). In Mooney, George W. (ed.). Argonautica. London, UK:
Longmans, Green – via Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University.
Publius Ovidius Naso. Metamorphoses. VIII, 309.
Publius Ovidius Naso (1922). "Online version" (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?do
c=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028). Metamorphoses. Perseus Digital Library. Translated by
More, Brookes. Boston, MA: Cornhill Publishing – via Tufts University.
Publius Ovidius Naso (1892). "Latin text" (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Per
seus:text:1999.02.0029). Metamorphoses. Gotha, Germany: Hugo Magnus / Friedr. Andr.
Perthes. – via Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University.
Tzetzes, John (2015). Allegories of the Iliad. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library. Translated
by Goldwyn, Adam J.; Kokkini, Dimitra. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-96785-4.

External links
Media related to Telamon at Wikimedia Commons

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