Diocles (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Diocles (Ancient Greek: Διοκλῆς Dioklēs) may refer to:

• Diocles of Pherae, father of the twins Orsilochus and Crethon,[1] and also of Anticleia, the mother of Nicomachus and Gorgasus by Machaon.[2] In the Odyssey, Telemachus and Peisistratus spent a night at his house on their way to Sparta,[3] as well as on their way back.[4]
• Diocles or Dioclus[5], king and one of the first priests of Demeter, and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries, along with Triptolemus and Polyxenus.[6]
• Diocles of Megara, to where he fled from Athens. He was known for his love of boys, and was killed in a battle as he was covering his loved one with his own shield. The people of Megara buried Diocles and honored him as a hero, and held a kissing contest dedicated to him.[7]
• Diocles, king of Megara, who was overthrown by Theseus, as a result of which Eleusis was annexed from Megara.[8] He may be identical with #2 or #3.

Notes

1. Homer, Iliad 5.541–550 ff
2. Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio 4.30.2
3. Homer, Odyssey 3.488
4. Homer, Odyssey 15.186
5. Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 2.153
6. Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 2.475
7. Scholia on Theocritus, Idyll 12 & 28
8. Plutarch, Theseus, 10.3

References

• Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer, Homeri Opera in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.