Upon his arrival in Sikelia Herakles desired to make the circuit of the entire island and so set out from Pelorias in the direction of Eryx. ' When Herakles arrived at the strait where the sea is narrowest, he had the cattle taken over into Sikelia (Sicily), but as for himself, he took hold of the horn of a bull and swam across the passage, the distance between the shores being thirteen stades, as Timaios (Timaeus) says. After Eryx has bestowed upon it the honours we have described, Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite, when at a later time he was on his way to Italy and came to anchor off the island, embellished the sanctuary, since it was that of his own mother, with many votive offerings.'ĭiodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. The goddess, both because of the reverence which the inhabitants of the region paid to her and because of the honour which she received from the son whom she had borne, displayed an exceptional love for the city, and for this reason she came to be called Aphrodite Erykinia (Erycinia). He also founded a notable city which bore his name it was set upon a lofty place, and on the highest point within the city he established a shrine of his mother, which he embellished not only with a beautifully built temple, but also with the multitude of his dedications. 'Eryx was a son of Aphrodite and Butas (Butes), a certain native king of Sikelia (Sicily) of very great fame, and he was admired by the natives because of his noble birth on his mother's side and became king over a part of the island. 'And he shall come to the inhospitable wrestling-arena of the bull whom Kolotis (Colotis) bare.'ĭiodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. Quickly would they have robbed him of his return then and there, but the goddess that rules Eryx, Kypris (Cypris), in pity snatched him away, while yet in the eddies, and graciously meeting him saved him to dwell on the Lilybaion (Lilybaeum) height.' ' the goodly son of Teleon alone of the comrades leapt before them all from the polished bench into the sea, even Boutes, his soul melted by the clear ringing voice of the Seirenes (Sirens) and he swam through the dark surge to mount the beach, poor wretch. He found it in the herds of Eryx, and when the king refused to surrender it unless Herakles should beat him in a wrestling bout, Herakles beat him thrice, killed him in the wrestling, and taking the bull drove it with the rest of the herd to the Ionian Sea.'Īpollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.

So Herakles entrusted the kine to Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and hurried away in search of the bull. Now Eryx was a son of Poseidon, and he mingled the bull with his own herds. ' At Rhegion (Rhegium) a bull broke away and hastily plunging into the sea swam across to Sikelia (Sicily), and having passed through the neighboring country since called Italy after it, for the Tyrrhenians called the bull italus, came to the plain of Eryx, who reigned over the Elymoi. BOUTES & APHRODITE (Diodorus Siculus 4.23.2 & 4.83.1) The king was killed in the ensuing contest.

When Herakles was herding the cattle of Geryon across the island, Eryx stole the finest bull from the herd and challenged the hero to a wrestling or boxing match when he sought to recover it. ERYX was a king of the Sicilian town of Eryx, a son of either the god Poseidon or of Aphrodite and the hero Boutes.

Eryx the tagger