In Greek mythology, Ancaeus was both an Argonaut and a participant in the Calydonian Boar hunt, in which he met his end. He was a son of King Lycurgus of Arcadia, a hero of the city of Tegea who set out clad in a bearskin and armed with a labrys (double-bladed axe). He is to be distinguished from his fellow Argonaut Ancaeus, son of Poseidon, with whom he is often confused.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Ancaeus (son of Lycurgus)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family
Ancaeus was the son of King Lycurgus of Arcadia, his mother being variously identified as Cleophyle, Eurynome, or Antinoe.
He married Iotis and became the father of Agapenor, who led the Arcadian forces during the Trojan War.
II.Mythology
Ancaeus was an Argonaut, joining the expedition led by Jason to fetch the Golden Fleece. His arms had ominously been hidden away at home, but he set forth nonetheless, dressed in a bearskin and armed only with a labrys, a double-bladed axe.
He also took part in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. It was in this venture that he met his death, gored by the boar; he is depicted lying deceased on the ground in Peter Paul Rubens' painting of the hunt.
III.Other figures of the name
This Ancaeus, the son of Lycurgus of Tegea, is often confused with another Argonaut of the same name, Ancaeus the son of Poseidon, who served as a helmsman aboard the Argo. The two shared a common fate, each said to have met his death at the tusks of a boar.
The two are treated as distinct figures in classical sources, and the name is also borne by still other minor characters in Greek myth, so that the Tegean Argonaut should not be conflated with his Poseidon-born namesake.