In Greek mythology, Cleodaeus (Ancient Greek: Κλεοδαῖος) was one of the Heracleidae, a grandson of Heracles. He was the son of Heracles's eldest son Hyllus and Iole of Oechalia, and the father of Aristomachus, who led the third failed attempt to capture Mycenae. He also had a daughter, Lanassa, who married Neoptolemus. Cleodaeus was honored with a heroon (hero-shrine) at Sparta.
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I.Family
Cleodaeus was one of the Heracleidae, the descendants of Heracles. He was the son of Heracles's eldest son Hyllus and Iole of Oechalia, which made Cleodaeus a grandson of Heracles.
He became the father of Aristomachus, through whom the Heraclid line continued toward the eventual Return to the Peloponnese. He also had a daughter, Lanassa, who married Neoptolemus and bore him several children, one of whom was named Pyrrhus.
II.Mythology
Cleodaeus belongs to the chain of generations through which the Heracleidae sought to reclaim the Peloponnese, the inheritance they traced from Heracles. His son Aristomachus led the third attempt to capture Mycenae, an attempt that failed, continuing the series of unsuccessful Returns that preceded the final, successful conquest by Aristomachus's own sons.
Cleodaeus thus stands as a link in the Dorian descent Hyllus → Cleodaeus → Aristomachus, each generation pressing the claim to the Peloponnese until the line of the Return at last prevailed.
III.Cult
Cleodaeus received hero-cult: he had a heroon (hero-shrine) at Sparta, marking his veneration among the Dorian descendants of Heracles in the Peloponnese.
IV.Other figures of the name
Cleodaeus was also the name of a son of Heracles by an unnamed female slave of Omphale. This figure is distinct from Cleodaeus the Heraclid, the son of Hyllus and grandson of Heracles.