AutoLycus
Publié le 17/01/2022
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Greek Son of the god Hermes and
Chione, described by Ovid as a "wily brat"; father,
with Amphithea, of Anticlea, who was the mother
of Odysseus.
Autolycus was known as a master thief and an
expert liar. He would steal goats and sheep and offer
them to Hermes as sacrifices, a tribute which the god
then rewarded. Hermes gave his son the ability to
transform objects to help disguise them. Autolycus
would change the color of cattle, or put horns on
animals that had none or remove horns from horned
animals. He could also, some say, make himself and
the things he stole invisible.
In one story, he stole cattle from his neighbor,
Sisyphus, by changing their spots. At first Sisyphus
could not understand how his herd could be shrinking,
but since he never saw the cattle wandering off,
he decided to carve a mark in the hooves of the cattle
he still had. The next time Autolycus came to steal
cattle, he changed their color but not their hooves and
Sisyphus caught the thief. In revenge, Sisyphus slept
with Anticlea shortly before she married Laertes, and
therefore some say he is the father of Odysseus.
Autolycus is said to have taught the hero Heracles
to wrestle and to have joined Jason and become one
of the Argonauts. Some sources, however, say this
Autolycus came from Thessaly and was not the son
of Hermes.