and the Khalkotauroi. Sets Jason tasks to fulfil in order to acquire it. AEGYPTUS Grandson of Libya and Poseidon. Brother of Cepheus and Phineus. Father of Busiris. AEGEUS King of Athens. Husband of Medea. Father (by Aethra) of Theseus, and (by Medea) of Medus. Uncle of the Pallantidae. Employs the Cretan Bull to rid him of Androgeus. Tries the same with Theseus, then Medea’s poison, before recognizing his son. Sends Theseus as part of the tribute demanded by Minos II for his role in the death of Androgeus. Fatal victim of filial forgetfulness. Site of his death named ‘Aegean Sea’ after him. AESON Rightful king of Iolcos. Son of Cretheus and Tyro. Brother of Pheres; half-brother of Neleus and Pelias. Husband of Alcimede. Father of Jason and Promachus. Deposed and imprisoned (with Alcimede) by Pelias. Entrusts Jason to Chiron. Either murdered by Pelias, or driven to murder-suicide with Alcimede and Promachus by Pelias, while Jason absent on the quest for the Golden Fleece. ALCINOUS King of the Phaeacians. Husband (and uncle) of Arete. Kind-hearted and protective host of Jason, Medea and the Argonauts. ALCON Spartan prince. Son of Ares and Hippocöon of Amykles. Slain (messily) by the Calydonian Boar. AMPHION AND ZETHUS Usurper kings of Thebes. Twin sons of Zeus and Antiope (sister-in-law of Polydorus). Half-brothers of Zeus’s plethora of progeny. Assist Cadmus in constructing the walls and citadel of Thebes. Overthrow their kinsman Labdacus and rule in his place. AMPHITRYON Grandson of Perseus and Andromeda. Husband of Alcmene. Exiled to Thebes for killing his uncle/father-in-law Electryon. Father of Iphicles and Laonome. ANCAEUS King of Samos. Son of Lycurgus of Arcadia. Brother of Iasus. Possible uncle of Atalanta. Joins the Argonaut. Succeeds Tiphys as helmsman of the Argo. Navigates the Wandering Rocks. ANDROGEUS Cretan prince. Son of Minos II and Pasiphae. Brother of Ariadne, Deucalion and Phaedra. Half-brother of the Minotaur. While guest of Aegeus, slain by (his half-uncle) the Cretan Bull. Athenian tribute to the Minotaur compensation for his death. ANTIMEDES Trusted servant and facilitator of Laius. At his command exposes the infant Oedipus. Later discloses to Oedipus vital clues as to his true identity. ARGUS Prince of Argos and shipwright. Joins the Argonauts. Aided by Athena in constructing the Argo (named in his honour). ASCLEPIUS Master of healing. Son of Apollo and Coronis. Half-brother of Apollo’s other progeny. Kinsman of Caenis and Polyphemus. Raised by Chiron. Temporarily slain by Zeus for his hubris in resurrecting the dead. Hunter of the Calydonian Boar. Later immortalized. Catasterized as Ophiuchus. ATHAMAS King of Boeotia. Grandson of Hellen. Brother of Cretheus, Salmoneus and Sisyphus. Husband of Nephele, Ino and Themisto. Father of Phrixus and Helle (by Nephele); of Learchus and Melicertes (by Ino); and of Schoeneus (by Themisto). Tricked by Ino into attempting to sacrifice Phrixus and Helle. Kills Learchus and drives Ino and Melicertes to suicide. ATREUS Son of Pelops and Hippodamia. Brother of Nicippe, Pittheus and Thyestes; half-brother (and, some think, murderer) of Chrysippus. Installed as King of Mycenae by Hyllus and the Heraclides. Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Scion and forebear of much-cursed houses. AUGEAS King of Elis. Son of Helios. Father of Phyleus. Uncle of Eurytus and Cteatus. Kinsman of Tiphys. Possessor of immortal cattle and filthy stables. Tricks Heracles; later slain by him in revenge. One of the Argonauts. AUTOLYCUS Light-fingered son of Hermes. Father of Eumolus (musical supply teacher of Heracles). Grandfather of Odysseus. BELLEROPHON ‘The slayer of monsters’. Son of Eurynome and either Glaucus of Corinth or Poseidon. (Half-)brother of Deliades, whom he fatally mistakes for a boar. Possible half-brother of Poseidon’s other progeny, including Pegasus, whom he tames with Athena’s golden bridle. Cousin of Jason. Briefly betrothed to Aethra. Fitted up by Proetus and Stheneboea. Slayer of the Chimera. Subduer of the Amazons, Solymi and Cheimarrhus. Repelled from Xanthus by its womenfolk’s buttocks. Settles differences with Iobates, receiving the hand of Philonoë and the succession to his kingdom. Crippled by Zeus for his hubris in trying to enter Olympus. BUSIRIS King of Egypt. Son of Aegyptus. Cousin of Heracles. Enthusiastic practitioner of human sacrifice. Slain by Heracles and his capital renamed Thebes. BUTES Sicilian king and expert apiarist. One of the Argonauts. Goes overboard in his admiration for the Sirens. Rescued by Aphrodite, who becomes his lover. Father (by Aphrodite) of Eryx. CADMUS Often known as ‘the First Hero’. Founder king of Thebes. Grandson of Poseidon and Libya and of Nilus and Nephele. Brother of Europa. Husband of Harmonia. Father of Agave, Autonoë, Ino, Polydorus and Semele. Forebear of a much-cursed house. CAENEUS Lapith hero. Formerly Caenis, until granted gender reassignment (and invulnerable skin) by Poseidon. Buried alive by centaurs at Pirithous’s wedding. CALAIS AND ZETES Also known as the Boreads. Quasi-immortal flying sons of Boreas (the North Wind) and Orithyia, daughter of Erechtheus. Brothers-in-law of Phineus of Salmydessus. Join the Argonauts. Free Phineus from the Harpies. Slain by Heracles in revenge for abandoning him during the quest for the Golden Fleece. CECROPS Founder king of Attica. Responsible for giving Athens its name and its divine protector,