Ανδρογεως
One of the sons of Minos and Pasiphae (Table 28). He excelled in all athletic sports, took part in the meeting held by Aegeus at Athens, and beat all the other competitors. Aegeus was jealous of him and sent him to fight the bull of Marathon, which was laying waste the countryside, but Androgeos perished. In other versions Androgeos is said to have been on his way to compete in the games at Thebes, after his victories at Athens, when he was attacked on the road by his unsuccessful competitors and killed.
Whatever the truth, the news was brought to Minos just as he was celebrating a sacrifice to the Graces on the island of Paros. Although he did not interrupt the celebration of the festival he wished to show a sign of his grief so threw his crown off his head and asked his flute-players to stop playing. This is said to be the origin of the ceremony, peculiar to Paros, which banned crowns of flowers and ritual flute music in sacrifices to the Graces. As soon as the festival was over Minos collected a fleet and left to attack Athens, starting on his way by capturing Megara which, lying on the gulf of Salamis, is the key to Attica. He took the town thanks to the treachery of Scylla, the daughter of King Nisus. From there he marched on Athens.
But the war dragged on and, wanted it to end, Minos prayed to Zeus to avenge him on the Athenians, and plague and famine struck the city. The sacrifice of several virgins (the Hyacinthides) having proved fruitless, the Athenians consulted the oracle, which replied that if the Athenians wanted the calamities to cease they would have to concede to Minos' demand of an annual tribute of seven girls and seven young men to be handed over as food for the Minotaur, the hideous son of Pasiphae. It was from this tribute that Theseus freed Attica.
One tradition claimed that Androgeos had been brought back to life by Asclepius (this is possible a mistake for Glaucus). Androgeos had two sons, Alceus and Sthenelus, who settled in Paros, with their uncles, the sons of Minos and Paria (see Nephalion).
{E2 DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY}
Table of Sources:
- Apollod. Bibl. 3, 15, 7
- Catull. 64, 77ff.
- Hyg. Fab. 41
- Ovid, Met. 7, 458
- Paus. 1, 1, 2; 1, 1, 4; 1, 27, 10
- Prop. 2, 1, 61f