Linus

Also known as: Œtolinus · Role: son of Apollo · First appears: Book 2 · Chapter 19

Linus was said to be the son of Urania and Amphiaraus (son of Poseidon). Another account says Apollo slew him after he boasted that he equaled the god; an earlier passage also names him as Apollo’s son.

Hercules was Linus’s music-master, and, according to one account, Hercules slew him when still a boy. As sorrow for Linus grew, Pamphus called him Œtolinus, or “sad Linus”; Sappho later used that name in a song about Adonis and Œtolinus. Homer described a harper boy singing the song of Linus on the shield made by Hephæstus, and another account says Linus represented the same subject as Styx.

After the Greeks’ defeat at Chæronea, Philip (son of Amyntas) moved Linus’s remains to Macedonia following a dream vision. Afterwards, Philip sent them back to Thebes after another dream; the tomb’s coverings and other identifying marks were said to have been worn away with time.

Relationship record

Life events

• Urania bore Linus, whose father was Amphiaraus.(Book 9 · Chapter 29)
  • With: Urania Amphiaraus (son of Poseidon)
  • “It is said that Linus was the son of Urania by Amphiaraus the son of Poseidon”
• Apollo slew Linus after Linus boasted that he equaled the god.(Book 9 · Chapter 29)
  • With: Apollo
  • “and that Apollo slew him because he boasted himself as equal to the god.”
• Philip removed Linus’s remains to Macedonia after receiving a dream vision.(Book 9 · Chapter 29 · 📍 Macedonia)
  • With: Philip (son of Amyntas)
  • “after the fatal defeat of the Greeks at Chæronea Philip the son of Amyntas, according to a vision he had in a dream, removed the remains of Linus to Macedonia”
• Philip sent Linus’s remains back to Thebes after another dream.(Book 9 · Chapter 29 · 📍 Thebes)
  • With: Philip (son of Amyntas)
  • “but they say that all the coverings of the tomb and other distinctive marks are obliterated through lapse of time.”

Book 2 · Chapter 19

• parent: Apollo (Apollo is Linus's father.) “Here also are the tombs of Linus the son of Apollo”

Book 8 · Chapter 18

• with Styx (interaction) “Linus too they say has represented the same.”

Book 9 · Chapter 29

• parent: Urania (Urania is identified as Linus's mother.) “It is said that Linus was the son of Urania by Amphiaraus the son of Poseidon,”
• parent: Amphiaraus (son of Poseidon) (Amphiaraus is identified as Linus's father.) “It is said that Linus was the son of Urania by Amphiaraus the son of Poseidon,”
• with Apollo (Apollo killed Linus.) “and that Apollo slew him because he boasted himself as equal to the god.”
• with Pamphus (Pamphus gave Linus the name Œtolinus.) “And Pamphus, who composed the most ancient Hymns for the Athenians, as the sorrow for Linus grew to such a pitch, called him Œtolinus, (sad Linus).”
• with Sappho (Sappho sang of Linus under the name Œtolinus.) “And the Lesbian Sappho, having learnt from Pamphus this name of Œtolinus, sings of Adonis and Œtolinus together.”
• with Philip (son of Amyntas) (Philip moved Linus's remains to Macedonia.) “Philip the son of Amyntas, according to a vision he had in a dream, removed the remains of Linus to Macedonia,”
• pupil: Hercules (Linus was Hercules's music-master.) “and that Hercules when quite a boy slew him: he was Hercules’ music-master.”
• with Homer (interaction) “as Homer who in his account of the shield of Achilles says that Hephæstus among other things represented a harper boy singing the song of Linus.”
• with Hephæstus (interaction) “as Homer who in his account of the shield of Achilles says that Hephæstus among other things represented a harper boy singing the song of Linus.”

⭐ Constellation map → · 📖 Read the original → · 🗂 Character index → · 🕰 Chronicle → · 📍 Places →

Extracted from the original text of Pausanias' Description of Greece. Made with Rho MD.