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Acacus (mythology)

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Acacus (Ancient Greek: Ἄκακος or Ἄκακον means 'harmless, guileless'), in Greek mythology, was a king of Acacesium (Ἀκακήσιον) in Arcadia. He was one of the 50 sons of the impious King Lycaon[1] either by the naiad Cyllene,[2] Nonacris[3] or by unknown woman. Acacus was the foster-father of the infant Hermes.[4]

Maia gave birth to Hermes at dawn in a sacred cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, and he was raised by Acacus. He was believed to be the founder of the Arcadian town of Acacesium where he was king.[5]

Notes

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  1. ^ Pausanias, 8.3.2, 8.36.10
  2. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae 1.13.1
  3. ^ Pausanias, 8.17.6
  4. ^ Pausanias, 8.36.10
  5. ^ Pausanias, 8.3.2

References

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  • Dionysus of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities. English translation by Earnest Cary in the Loeb Classical Library, 7 volumes. Harvard University Press, 1937-1950. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
  • Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt, Vol I-IV. . Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
  • Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
  • Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.