Αλχινοος
King of an island which Homer refers to as Scheria; it is probably Corfu. Alcinous was said to be the grandson of Poseidon and his father was called Nausithous. Alcinous himself had five sons and one daughter, Nausicaa. Alcinous' wife, who was also his niece, was called Arete (which means indescribable in Greek). She lived in the palace with her husband and children surrounded by a wounderful orchard, where fruit of every kind ripened all the year round. Arete and Alcinous were beloved by their people, hospitable to strangers and especially to victims of shipwreck, whose lot they tried to alleviate.
One of these victims was Odysseus who was shipwrecked when returning from Calypso's island. Having refreshed Odysseus and listened, during a banquet, to the long take of his adventures, Alcinous gave him a ship on which to return to Ithaca, which is not far from Corfu, and loaded him with gifts.
In the Argonautica, Medea and the Argonauts landed in Alcinous' country and found, at his court, a group of envoys from Medea's father, Arete, which orders to bring Medea back to him. Alcinous was chosen to arbitrate between the two sides. He decided that if Medea was still a virgin, she would be sent back to her father; if not she should be left with Jason. Faced with this decision, Arete hastened to marry the young couple and so save Medea from the punishment which awaited her at Colchis (see Argonauts). Not daring to appear before the king the natives of Colchis settled in Corfu, while the Argonauts made their way back home, after Arete had offered gifts to the young couple.
{E2 DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY}
Table of Sources:
- Hom. Od. 6 and 7, with schol.
- Apoll. Rhod. Arg. 4, 982ff.
- Apollod. Bibl. 1, 9, 26