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Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
Norse Classical Celtic Arthurian
Literature Stories Names
Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Atlas Coeus Crius Cronus Demeter Dionysus Gaia Hades Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Hyperion Iapetus Mnemosyne Oceanus Phobos Phoebe Poseidon Prometheus Rhea Tethys Themis Uranus Zeus
Bacchus Ceres Diana Juno Jupiter Mars Mercury Minerva Neptune Pluto Venus Vesta Vulcan
Amun Anubis Aten Atum Babi Bastet Bes Geb Hapi hathor heqet Horus Isis Khepri Khnum Khonsu Maat Nephthys Nut Osiris Ptah Ra Seshat Seth Shu Sobek Thoth
Alfheim Baldur Freya Freyr Frigg Heimdallr Helheim Idun Jotunheim Loki Nerthus Njord Odin Thor Tyr
Aengus Arawn Badb Brigid Cailleach Ceridwen Cernunnos Cu Chulainn Dagda Danu Gwydion Herne the Hunter Lugh Medb Morrigan Neit Nuada Taliesin Taranis
Chalchiuhtlicue Coatlicue Huitzilopochtli Mictlantecuhtli Mixcoatl Ometeotl Quetzalcoatl Tezcatlipoca Tlaloc Tonatiuh Xipe Totec Xochiquetzal Xolotl
Amaterasu Ame no Uzume Benzaiten Bishamonten Daikokuten Ebisu Fujin Fukurokuju Inari Izanagi Kagutsuchi Raijin Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Caishen Cangjie Dragon King Eight Immortals Erlang Shen Fuxi Guanyin Hou Yi Huxian Jade Emperor King Yama Leizi Lu-ban Mazu Nezha Nuwa Pangu Shennong Sun Wukong Xiwangmu Yue Lao Zhong Kui
Norse Classical Celtic Arthurian
Literature Stories Names
  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
  2. Royal Houses
    Aeolids House of Elis & Calydon Houses of Argolis House of Pelops Minoan Crete House of Thebes House of Sparta House of Athens Heraclids House of Troy Tales of Rome
  3. House of Elis & Calydon
    Aëthlius Endymion Epeius and Eleius Augeias Aetolus Oeneus Thoas
  4. Augeias

Augeias

Augeias (Αὐγείας), the son of Phorbas, the Lapith chieftain, and of Hyrmina, the daughter of Epeius. Augeias was also called the son of the sea god Poseidon or of the sun god Helius. Augeias was the brother of Actor and Tiphys.

Apollonius of Rhodes listed Augeias among the members of the Argonauts, though he was not prominent in the quest. Augeias' fame was mainly associated with the hero Heracles.

Elis reached the height of its power during the reign of Augeias. Augeias was perhaps the richest ruler in the Peloponnesus, because he had the largest stable of fine cattle. Because of the size of his stables, it was difficult to clean.

Eurystheus sent Heracles to clean the stables in a single day, as one of his labours (the 5th Labour).

Heracles bargained with Augeias to clean the stables in a day, in return for a tenth of the cattle as payment. Phyleus, Augeias' son, witnessed the bargain made. It seemed to be an impossible task, because the stables were large and hadn't been cleaned since they had been built. Heracles solved his problem by diverting the rivers Peneius and Alpheius, so that the water flowed through the stables.

When Heracles came to collect his payment, the king refused, thereby earning the hero's enmity. Heracles threatened Augeias that he would punish the king. Phyleus tried to persuade his father to honour the deal made to Heracles. Augeias banished his son, and Phyleus took refuge in Dulichium. See the Fifth Labour of Heracles.

Augeias, fearing he had made a powerful enemy, called upon his kin to aid him if war were to come. Among his allies were Amarynceus and the twin sons of Actor, Eurytus and Cteatus, who were known as the Moliones. Augeias also began strengthening his army.

There was frequent war between the city of Elis and Pylus. Nestor recalled that his father Neleus prevented him from going into battle, because he was rather young. So Nestor sneaked out and joined the army, killing many enemies, including Augeias' son, Mulius. Nestor also recalled winning all of the contests at the funeral games of Amarynceus, at Buprasium, except in the chariot race in which the Moliones had won.

Some years later, Heracles gathered a strong army from Tiryns. The first battle turned out to be disastrous for Heracles. The Moliones seemed to be a match for him. The Moliones were said to be Siamese twins, Eurytus and Cteatus; the Catalogues of Women clearly stated that the Moliones were "double in form and with two bodies and joined to one another". Heracles was too ill at the time to take a more active part in the war, so his army was driven back.

When the Moliones attended the Isthmian Games, Heracles ambushed and killed the Moliones on the road, near Cleonae.

Without the aid of the Moliones, Augeias couldn't beat back the second invasion, which Heracles launched. Either Heracles killed or deposed the Eleian king. Augeias' exiled son Phyleus was then free to rule Elis, but he preferred to remain in Dulichium.

See also Wars in Peloponnesus on the Heracles page.

Related Information

Name

Augeias, Αὐγείας.

Sources

Library was written by Apollodorus.

Description of Greece was written by Pausanias.

Related Articles

Eleius, Heracles, Nestor, Neleus.

Fifth Labour of Heracles; Wars in Peloponnesus.

Genealogy: House of Elis.

Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

House of Elis & Calydon:

  • • Aëthlius
  • • Endymion
  • • Epeius and Eleius
  • • Augeias
  • • Aetolus
  • • Oeneus
  • • Thoas
Fifth Labour (Stables of Augeias)

Fifth Labour (Stables of Augeias)

Angry at Heracles for running off seeking new adventure with the Argonauts , Eurystheus decided that the fifth labour would be the most humiliating of his tasks: cleaning the Augeian stables in a single day. Augeias was the king of Elis, and he ow...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
House of Elis (Aeolids 4)

House of Elis (Aeolids 4)

Below, is an alternative tree for the children and grandchildren of Phorbas. It is basically the same, except that Augeias was sometimes seen as the son of Helius or Poseidon, not of Phorbas. Also, this tree shows that Cteates and Eurytus (the Mol...

July 28th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Epeius and Eleius

Epeius and Eleius

Epeius Eleius Epeius Epeius (Ἐπειός) was the son of Endymion , and the brother of Aetolus and Paeon. Epeius also had a sister named Eurycyda. When Endymion abdicated as king, the kingship of Elis was decided on by a footrace. The winner would beco...

May 12th, 2001 • Jimmy Joe
Eurystheus

Eurystheus

Perseus' son Electryon ruled Mycenae until he was probably killed accidentally by his nephew and son-in-law, Amphitryon. Sthenelus took the throne that should have belonged to Amphitryon. When the god Zeus was expecting the birth of his son Heracl...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Elis

Elis

Elis (Ἦλις) was the capital of the region also called Elis. Elis was founded by either Aëthlius , son of Aeolus and Protogeneia, or by Endymion, Aëthlius' son by Calyce. Endymion had three sons – Epeius, Paeon and Aetolus. To decide which son woul...

August 8th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Aegina and Aeacus

Aegina and Aeacus

The story of Aegina (Αἄγινα) and her son has already been briefly told in the Aegina, Islands (Geographia) and in the Myrmidons, Mythical Creatures sections. Hera persecuted them because of Zeus' dalliance with yet another mortal girl. Asopus was ...

March 17th, 2001 • Jimmy Joe
Argus

Argus

So Argus (Ἄργος) succeeded his uncle (Apis). Argus was a son of Zeus and Niobe, who was Apis' sister. Argus became the new king of Phoronea, and he renamed the city after himself, Argos. Niobe may have also been the mother of Pelasgus (Pelasgos, Π...

April 24th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Heracles

Heracles

Homes of Heracles Education of Heracles Twelve Labours of Heracles Companions of Heracles The Heraclids Homes of Heracles Education of Heracles Below are the list of name who trained Heracles. Twelve Labours of Heracles Here are the list of the Tw...

June 7th, 2000 • Jimmy Joe
Tenth Labour (Cattle of Geryon)

Tenth Labour (Cattle of Geryon)

For the tenth labour, Heracles was required to fetch the cattle of Geryon . Geryon (Γηρυονεύς) was the king of Erytheia (Cadiz), in Spain. The cattle were guarded by Geryon's herdsman and the two-headed hound called Orthus (Ὄρθρος). The journey wa...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Eighth Labour (Mares of Diomedes)

Eighth Labour (Mares of Diomedes)

The eighth labour was to fetch the flesh-eating mares of Diomedes . Diomedes (Διομήδης) was the king of the Bistones, in Thrace, who fed human flesh to his horses. Heracles threw Diomedes to the mares, and they killed and ate the king. There was a...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe

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