Aeacus

Overview

Aeacus is the legendary king of Aegina, son of Zeus and Aegina, and father of Peleus, Telamon and Phocus. Through Peleus and Telamon he becomes the grandfather of Achilles and Ajax the Great.

Generation

Heroic Age

Symbols

Aegina, kingship, judgement

Notes

Aeacus is one of the important ancestral kings of Greek heroic mythology and is especially associated with the island of Aegina.

He is traditionally a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, from whom the island takes its name.

Aeacus becomes the father of Peleus, Telamon and Phocus in an important strand of the tradition.

Through Peleus he is the grandfather of Achilles, while through Telamon he becomes the grandfather of Ajax the Great.

Phocus belongs to another branch of the family. His death at the hands of Peleus and Telamon becomes a turning point in the history of the Aeacids.

Aeacus exiles Peleus and Telamon after the killing. Their exile helps explain why the descendants of Aeacus later become associated with different heroic kingdoms rather than remaining together on Aegina.

Aeacus was also famous for justice and piety. Later Greek traditions place him among the judges of the dead alongside Minos and Rhadamanthys.

His mythology therefore connects Aegina, the ancestry of Achilles and Ajax, the tragedy of Phocus and Greek traditions concerning judgment in the afterlife.