In Greek mythology, Eurytion (also spelled Eurythion) was a king of Phthia. He was counted among the Argonauts who sailed for the Golden Fleece and among the heroes who joined the Calydonian Boar hunt. He purified the exiled Peleus, gave him a share of his kingdom and his daughter Antigone in marriage, and was later accidentally killed by his son-in-law during that hunt. The writer Tzetzes also called him Eurytus.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Eurytion (king of Phthia)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Name
The name Eurytion (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυτίων; genitive Εὐρυτίωνος, romanized Eurytiôn) literally means "widely honoured." An alternative form, Eurythion (Εὐρυθίων), is also recorded.
The Byzantine writer Tzetzes referred to this Eurytion by the name Eurytus.
II.Family
Eurytion was the swift son of either Irus and Demonassa, or of Kenethos and Cerion, and the father of Antigone. His father was also called Actor, king of Phthia, who is otherwise known as his grandfather, for Irus was the son of Actor. If Eurytion's father was Irus, he was the brother of Eurydamas, who was likewise an Argonaut.
Ancient sources disagree on his parentage and fate. A comparative tradition records his family and death differently across authors such as Apollonius, Apollodorus, Hyginus, Antoninus Liberalis, and the Orphic accounts.
III.Mythology
When Peleus fled from Aegina because of the murder of his half-brother Phocus, he was received and purified by Eurytion at his Phthian court. The king also offered the son of Aeacus a third part of the kingdom to rule over and his daughter Antigone in marriage. In the time when the voyage of the Argonauts took place, Eurytion was known to let his hair grow until he was safely home again.
Together with his son-in-law, Eurytion went to Calydon to answer the call of King Oeneus to kill the Calydonian Boar that was ravaging the country. There, along with the other hunters, they were hospitably entertained by the king for ten days. During the hunt, Peleus threw a spear that missed the great wild boar but inadvertently struck his father-in-law. Eurytion died in the woods from that wound to his chest, and Peleus then fled from Phthia to Iolcus, where he was purified by King Acastus.
Afterward, the hero gathered together many sheep and cattle and brought them to Irus as blood money for the slaying of his son, but Irus would not accept this price from Peleus and sent him away.