Palaechthon (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Palaechthon or Palaichthon (Ancient Greek: Παλαίχθονος Palaikhthon means "ancient earth") was the son of Gaea (Earth) and the father of Pelasgus, king of Argos, who gave his name to the race of the Pelasgoi (Pelasgians).[1] He may also be a king of Argos when taking into account the sovereignty of his son.

Mythology

Palaeachthon was only mentioned by Aeschylus in The Suppliants in the following account:

For I am Pelasgus, offspring of Palaechthon, whom the earth brought forth, and lord of this land; and after me, their king, is rightly named the race of the Pelasgi, who harvest the land.[2]

Interpretation

The earthborn Palaichthon (‘long in the land’, i.e. ‘indigenous inhabitant’), whose name appears in no other source, seems to have been an arbitrarily invented figure.[3][4]

Note

1. Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 340 ff
2. Aeschylus, Suppliant Women 250 ff This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Alcman, 57
4. Hard, Robin (2004). The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology. 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001: Taylor & Francis Group. p. 538. ISBN 0-203-44633-X.CS1 maint: location (link)

Reference

• Aeschylus, translated in two volumes. 2. Suppliant Women by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.