Εχεμος

The son of Aeropus and husband of Timandra, the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda (Table 2); he was therefore a brother-in-law of the Dioscuri, Helen and Clytemnestra. Echemus succeeded Lycurgus on the Arcadian throne, and in this capacity he defended the Peloponnese against the Heraclids' first invasion attempt. Echemus agreed to fight with Hyllus, the Heraclids' leader, in single-handed combat: if Echemus were to win, the Heraclids would not invade the Peloponnese again for fifty years (or a hundred, in some versions). This fight took place at the isthmus of Corinth, near Megara. Echemus killed Hyllus, and the Heraclids accordingly withdrew. As a result of the victory the Tegeans (Echemus was a native of Tegea) gained control of a section of the Peloponnesian confederate army. Echemus' tomb is said to have been at Megara, beside Hyllus', but his grave is also supposed to be at Tegea. According to one account, Echemus participated in the expedition led by the Dioscuri against Attica to release Helen from Theseus.

{E2 DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY}