Erginus (king of Orchomenus)

For other uses, see Erginus.

In Greek mythology, Erginus /ˈɜːrdʒɪnəs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἐργῖνος) was a king of Minyan Orchomenus in Boeotia.

Family

Erginus was the son of Clymenus or Periclymenus, his predecessor, and Buzyge (or Budeia)^[1] and his brothers were Arrhon, Azeus, Pyleus, Stratius,^[2] Eurydice^[3] and Axia.^[4] In one account, his father was instead Azeus.^[5] Some authors identify him with another Erginus, a Milesian Argonaut.^[6]

Mythology

Erginus avenged his father's death at the hands of Perieres, charioteer of Menoeceus of Thebes; he made war against Thebans, inflicting a heavy defeat. The Thebans were compelled to pay King Erginus a tribute of 100 oxen per year for twenty years. However, the tribute ended earlier than Erginus expected, when Heracles attacked the Minyan emissaries sent to exact the tribute. This prompted a second war between Orchomenus and Thebes, only this time Thebes (under the leadership of Heracles) was victorious, and a double tribute was imposed on the Orchomenians.^[7] Erginus was slain in battle according to the version of the story given by most ancient writers (e.g., the Bibliotheca, Strabo,^[8] Eustathius). But according to Pausanias, Erginus was spared by Heracles and lived to a ripe old age, and even fathered two sons, Trophonius and Agamedes, on a younger woman.^[9][10]