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.